Tricks and Treats: The 2011 Halloween Collection
by Lodylodylody
Summary: It's returns! The third annual Suite Life Halloween collection. Experience the tales of horror, humor, romance and more...brought to you by the finest Suite Life authors alive...and undead!
1. Introduction by Snapplelinz

_**Introduction **_

by Snapplelinz

* * *

A twig snapped sharply in close proximity followed by a strange wail.

"W-w-what was t-that?" London stammered in a trembling voice.

"Relax, London. It's just an owl." Cody chided soothingly.

"And that was me snapping a twig just to freak you out." Zack offered with a goofy grin on his face.

"Zack!" the group chorused with rippling moans of displeasure.

This was the third time in 5 minutes that he'd done something deliberately to scare London.

"Ok, ok. Let's start roasting some weenies then," Zack grumbled while spearing a hot dog onto the branch he'd just ripped off a nearby bush.

Unlike previous years, the Seven Seas gang had decided not to spend Halloween on the boat or in Zack and Cody's hometown of Boston. This year, they found themselves at a place called 'Camp Wannaweep', high up in the mountains and surrounded by lush pines and oak trees with emerald green leaves on them. Mr. Moseby and Ms. Tutweiller had been roped into the excursion as the group's chaperones with a promise of a higher pay raise by Wilfred Tipton.

Unlike the rest of the 'city folk' in the group, Bailey was completely at home in their surroundings, having set up the tents all by herself in the space of 20 minutes while the rest of the group had watched her with gaping astonishment.

After taking a nature hike for the better part of the day, the gang had settled down in front of a roaring fire in the campsite when the sun had finally set. Now they were ready to partake in a sumptuous dinner of hot dogs and s'mores while telling scary stories.

"Want a hot dog, Maya?" Marcus offered politely, brandishing a burnt sausage on a stick.

Maya grimaced and turned an extra shade of green at the sight. "Maybe in a little while, Marcus. I don't think I can stomach food after that story that Zack just told." She remarked hoarsely.

"Come on, sweetheart. It wasn't that bad."

"Not that bad? Zack, your story was about a sea monster that attacked the S.S. Tipton and killed almost everyone on deck – including Connie, who became a grotesque caricature of a…puppet." Ms. Tutweiller retorted, covering her mouth with her hand while she tried not to taste bile.

"Connie would not be pleased with that story at all." Mr. Moseby added sternly while swatting a mosquito off of his shoulder with a hanky.

"Come on, Mr. Moseby. It was just a story. At least Connie didn't get dumped in that story. It's still not as bad as Woody's story about the cats." Zack protested.

"Hey, that could totally happen in real life! Think about it: cats working as alien operatives set to take over the world. But to do it, they have to first kill the entire human race, starting with the passengers on the S.S. Tipton." Woody declared in the hushed whisper of someone giving out top government secrets.

"It was a freaky story, but kinda cool." Marcus remarked while tucking into his s'more.

"It was a pretty cool story, but highly inaccurate. Cats may be clever species, but taking over the world? Far-fetched!" Cody exclaimed in a falsetto on the last part.

"I don't care about it being far-fetched. Why did the cats have to kill me off? I'm rich, hot and fabulous!" London complained with a gesture towards her slender body.

"More importantly: why did they have to be my cats that killed everyone?" Ms. Tutweiller demanded with a beady eye in Woody's direction, who grinned sheepishly back at her.

"Come on, Ms. Tutweiller. You own a lot of cats. And one of them did attack London when you were trying to make me feel better after Cody and I broke up." Bailey pointed out reasonably while tossing another log onto the fire.

"Only because London antagonised it."

"Did not! That mangy rat is vicious – vicious, I tell you!"

"London, I think the word you're looking for is 'cat'." Maya reminded.

"I know what I said!"

"Moving on…" Mr. Moseby interjected swiftly. "Does anyone else have any other stories that don't concern vicious cats tearing people to pieces or entrails being spilled all over the deck of a ship?"

"Ooh, I've got one!" Cody piped up from beneath his beanie with tassels on both ends. "What if a bunch of explorers went to the Kola Peninsula in Russia, to explore the legend of the deepest hole on Earth, rumoured to be the gateway to Hell?"

"There's a step in the right direction," Ms. Tutweiller quipped sarcastically while the rest of the group stared in horror at Cody.

"Why did I come on this trip? My shoe submarine could've had me in the Caribbean by now." London lamented.

"I could've gone to Graceland with Mother." Mr. Moseby added woefully.

"Well, I suppose camping out here beats spending your time in a creepy mansion that belongs to your uncle that you haven't seen in years. But it's really haunted by an evil witch who traps unsuspecting people in oil paintings because of an ancient family curse." Maya rambled out of nowhere.

Everyone sitting around the camp fire turned to stare at Maya in confusion.

"I have got to stop watching Cinemax past midnight," Maya mumbled more to herself.

"Come on, guys. This fun – I think Cody's story would be cool. Anybody else got any scary stories?" Woody prompted.

"I have one. But…it's kinda out there." Bailey answered, biting her bottom lip nervously. "Actually, it's based on a nightmare I had a few months ago."

"What was it about?" Zack asked curiously.

Bailey blushed a little bit when met with Zack's piercing stare, but continued with her story.

"Well…I dreamt that Zack and I were married and Cody and London were married. It was years in the future and we were celebrating Christmas together in this fancy house. But mine and Zack's daughter disappeared during dinner and wandered into this old house with these holes in the living room walls. There were holes all over the place, and they were stuffed with little children. Then two hands came out of these holes and grabbed my daughter and…"

"And what?" London asked in horror.

"I don't really know exactly, but it seemed pretty bad, like he hurt her. Whenever I try to sleep at night, I think about that dream sometimes and it still freaks me out." Bailey replied with a shudder.

Cody instinctively pulled Bailey close to him and planted a reassuring kiss on her forehead.

"That's creepy. I had a pretty scary nightmare involving a little girl too." Maya admitted.

"What happened?" Woody questioned.

"It was so weird. Zack and I were married and so were Cody and Bailey and we were living together in the same house we'd just moved into. In the dream, I kept seeing a little girl being chased by the shadow of a man. It turned out they were ghosts and that the man had murdered the little girl, they were haunting the house. To cut a long story short, we had to get help from a ghost hunter/medium named Melinda Gordon who had to exorcise the bad ghost out of our home. It turned out pretty well in the end." Maya concluded simply.

"This Melinda Gordon sounds hot." Zack commented with relish. "What?" he asked when Maya glowered at him. "Would you prefer it if I hit on Bailey after hearing about her dream?"

The group laughed at this while Bailey scowled at Zack. Cody chuckled lightly and kissed Bailey on the cheek to appease her.

"Not that it isn't fun hearing about nightmares involving the abduction and murder of children, but wouldn't it be nice to tell stories about other things on Halloween?" Ms. Tutweiller piped up unexpectedly.

"Like what?" Zack asked in confusion.

"I don't know, things that aren't necessarily scary."

"But Ms. Tutweiller, that's the whole point of Halloween – to scare people." Cody pointed out.

"I disagree, Cody. I think that's just what popular culture has made it out to be." Mr. Moseby rejoined.

"I agree with Mr. Moseby. I think the whole point of Halloween is trick-or-treating." Woody declared while delicately licking melted chocolate off of his fingers.

"Or maybe the point of Halloween is about overcoming your fears." Maya added in an exuberant tone.

"How so?" Bailey asked, stoking the fire with a stray twig.

"Maybe instead of constantly being scared, Halloween should be about identifying what you're afraid of and moving past it." Maya replied.

"Wow, Maya. That's pretty deep." Marcus praised.

"Marcus is right. There was a scarecrow on our farm that I used to be scared of because of Halloween. But once I was able to figure out why I was so afraid of it, it makes it less scary for me." Bailey admitted pensively.

"I think Halloween could be pretty romantic." London declared with a dreamy look in her eye.

"O-k…" Zack murmured with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe what London means is that Halloween doesn't just have to be about scary things. It could be about adventure, romance, maybe even something funny that happens to you." Ms. Tutweiller interpreted.

"Or maybe just about me being super fabulous." London concluded with a big grin on her face, causing Ms. Tutweiller to shake her head.

"You know, Zack and I once had a pretty cool Halloween that involved Mr. Moseby." Cody piped up with a strange gleam in his eye.

All eyes turned to stare at Mr. Moseby, who looked equally baffled.

"Huh?" he asked quizzically.

"_We_ had a cool Halloween involving _Mr. Moseby_? This I gotta hear." Zack retorted before slapping his knee dramatically.

"Don't you remember, Zack? We were 'running amok' in Mr. Moseby's own words around the Tipton back home when we stumbled on that secret comic book stash in the basement near Arwin's office. When Mr. Moseby found out about it, I thought for sure that he would just confiscate them and give us another lecture about taking stuff that didn't belong to us. Instead, Mr. Moseby said we could read them and just told us to put it back when we were done." Cody explained.

"Oh yeah, now I remember." Zack answered with a snap of his fingers.

"You really let them keep the comics? Marion, you are full of surprises." Ms. Tutweiller responded, turning to stare at Mr. Moseby with a wide smile on her face.

"Wow, Mr. Moseby. That was really cool of you." Woody agreed with sincerity.

Mr. Moseby tried to dismiss their compliments with a wave of his handkerchief, an evident blush forming on his cheeks. "Well…I just thought that the comics might keep them from destroying the hotel." He offered lamely.

"No way was that reason. I think that deep down, you're actually really fond of Zack and Cody." Bailey declared with a teasing wink.

"Aww, Mr. Moseby's just a big ol' softie." Marcus agreed in a baby voice, making everyone else laugh.

"Alright, that's quite enough. Doesn't anyone else have an amusing anecdote or two before the fire burns out?" Mr. Moseby demanded with an irritated huff.

Maya leapt to her feet and began rubbing her hands together in excitement.

"Ooh, I've got one! How 'bout a story about a girl who's tired of always having bad luck? What if she started believing that there was a 50-50 chance that she could have anything she wanted? But instead of just good things happening, really bad things start happening around her. And then things get really weird when-"

Without warning, the group began screaming their lungs out when a large and hulking shadow loomed out of the darkness, leaping through the flames of the fire with alarming speed. Woody's hair stood on end more than usual when the figure emitted a sharp and rasping growl.

"Monster!" Cody yelled hoarsely before depositing Bailey off of his lap and onto the ground.

"Every hoodlum and handsome hotel manager for themselves!" Mr. Moseby exclaimed with a girlish shriek.

The group soon dispersed and began running wildly through the woods, flailing their arms and screaming loudly at the top of their voices.

Once the sounds had died down, a lone raccoon stood in front of the camp fire, an expression akin to puzzlement on its small face.

Then it began calmly eating the remnants of Marcus' s'more before soon moving onto the rest of the food left behind in the camp site.

* * *

_**A/N: 'Camp Wannaweep' is a reference from 'Kim Possible'. I tried to pay homage to all of the authors who contributed some phenomenal stories to the collection last year, you guys are all awesome :D **_

_**As this year's introductory chapter suggests, don't be afraid to branch out with story ideas for 2011. Halloween isn't just about scaring the pants off of the readers :P **_

_**Best of luck to this year's writers and the wonderful stories that I'm anticipating from all of you – Happy Halloween! **_

_**Remember this collection is open to all. If you want to participate, contact Lodylodylody or SilverTurtle, but do so quickly. The collection closes the first weekend in November. **_


	2. LodyLodyLody

**It's Easy Being Green **

by Lodylodylody

**_author's note: _**_ This story diverges from the way things played out on the show…but you can say that about most fanfic. The first few paragraphs should make it clear what's different in this particular **Suite Life** Reality._

* * *

Connie loved Halloween.

This didn't come as a surprise to most people aboard the ship where she worked, as the bubbly redhead was known for showing an insane amount of enthusiasm for…well…most everything. Holidays were certainly not an exception.

Still, those that knew her best were aware that Halloween had a special meaning to Connie. For it was on that night, not too many Octobers ago, that the woman had found the love of her life…and come to an unexpected revelation about her sexual orientation in the process.

As surprising as developments had been though, nobody could say it hadn't worked out for the best. Connie and Emma Tutweiller (the main teacher at the shipboard _Seven Seas High_) had both gone through their adult lives having horrible luck with men, but now that they had one another things were wonderful.

It was for this reason that Connie loved Halloween. It was a day that she wanted everyone to be happy.

But this year, in the days leading up to the ship's big costume party, it was obvious that not all of the shipboard regulars were predisposed towards happiness.

* * *

"Zack?" Cody asked in a sympathetic tone. "Would you let me give you some brotherly advice?"

"No," he replied tersely. "But that's never stopped you before."

Ignoring that hostility, Cody continued. "I realize this is hard for you. But you've got to get over Maya. What you two had was great, and frankly I was happy to see you serious about a relationship for once…but now it's time for you to move on."

"But I didn't do anything wrong," Zack said bitterly.

"I know," his twin answered. "And she didn't either."

"So why should I bother trying to get serious about any girl if the whole thing can be taken away from me…even if neither of us did anything wrong?"

Cody opened his mouth to reply…but found he didn't really have an answer. When Maya's parents had decided to send her to another school last semester, it had ended the most stable relationship Cody had ever seen his brother in.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore," Zack said. "Ever."

Cody could only sigh as his brother walked away. But then he heard someone approaching him from behind. He turned to face Connie.

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop," she explained. "But voices sometimes carry out here on the Lido Deck."

The young man shrugged. "It's not like Zack's mood is a secret anyway."

"I hate to see him so down."

"Me too," Cody said. "You know, I liked Maya. She's great actually. But now, I think I'd be happy even if Zack reverted back to the wannabe womanizer he used to be. At least he was happy then"

"Maybe if we could get him to go out with someone new-" Connie began, only to be cut off.

"Of the girls onboard, everyone is either unavailable…or have been burned by Zack back when he was more of a player. Bailey and I have tried talking to everyone…but we can't even score him a pity date for the costume party."

Connie chatted with the young man a little while longer before he went off to a lunch date with Bailey. But even before he'd excused himself, the wheels in Connie's mind were turning. Her mission was clear…find a date for Zack.

* * *

"Your job description does not say _Ship's Matchmaker_," Emma chided.

"It doesn't NOT say it either," Connie retorted and then smiled with exaggerated innocence, causing her partner to roll her eyes.

"Don't get cute with me," the taller woman said.

"Can't help it…born that way."

Emma laughed and gave Connie a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's useless to argue with you sometimes. But I think you've bitten off more than you can chew here. I see enough of my students and hear enough of their gossip to know that there really aren't any dateable options for Zack right now. "

"Oh come on…there has to be someone," Connie said as she and Emma took some seats at the juice bar.

"No, actually I think most every girl onboard already has a date for the party."

As if on cue, a very angry London Tipton stormed over to the juice bar and demanded a smoothie with the works…oblivious to the fact that Connie and Emma were there first.

"What's the matter, London?" Connie asked.

"My date for the Halloween ball cancelled!" she exclaimed. "He's not even going to be onboard. Flying back home just because his aunt came out of a coma or something...he could have gone home November 1st instead."

"Yes…what mixed up priorities he must have," Emma deadpanned.

"Finally! Someone who agrees with me!" the young heiress responded…totally missing the sarcasm.

Connie couldn't help but seeing opportunity in the situation. She quickly suggested a replacement date.

"Zack?" London paused…then burst out laughing. "Come on…I can't date Zack."

"Why not? Don't you think he's a nice guy?"

"He's not a guy…he's Zack!" London responded.

"Okay, I know your biology grade isn't the best," Emma chimed in. "But you are aware that Zack is, in fact, a guy?"

London actually caught the sarcasm that time. "Oh, you know what I mean. He's just not someone I could ever date."

"Why not?" Connie asked.

"Well, like most guys, he's beneath me," the young woman stated matter-of-factly. "And also he's…he's…" She paused a moment as her thought took an uncharacteristically serious turn. "He's my friend."

"So as a friend, you care about him…don't you?" Connie asked.

"Well…yeah. But not like that." She paused again. "Though he made a fun husband back when we had to do that class project."

Emma nodded as she thought back to the marriage and family class where all her students had paired off in hypothetical marriages. Of all the pseudo-couples, Zack and London had shown the most compatibility.

"The truth is, Zack could really use a nice night out with a pretty girl right now…even if that girl is just a friend," Connie explained.

"He has been moping around a lot," London commented as she considered.

"Besides, if you go to the party together you might win the _Best Couple_ category for the costume contest," Connie went on.

The heiress' face lit up. "Is there a trophy?"

Connie and Emma nodded in unison.

"Sold!" London exclaimed.

* * *

The night of the big party found Emma waiting in the ballroom for Connie to arrive. It seemed that her partner had been recruited to help London put the finishing touches on her costume…as the heiress wanted to make sure her outfit for the night went well with Zack's.

In the meantime, Emma played chaperone to the teens already there. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits…and some of their costumes were quite well done. Of course, Emma got a few compliments on her own disguise for the evening.

"Hey Ms. Tutweiller," Becky, captain of the wrestling team said as she approached. "Sticking with a classic, huh?"

Emma smiled. "What can I say? I've had good luck with this look." As usual, she was dressed as Jessica Rabbit…she loved how desirable she felt when dressed up as the cartoon bombshell. And besides, Connie loved it.

"Your costume looks great too," she told Becky as she looked at the girl's colorful tights and blonde wig. "Are you a super hero?"

"Nah, I'm Beth Phoenix…the pro wrestler."

Emma nodded. An appropriate costume indeed.

Another student, Holden, approached and said hello. Unlike Emma, he recognized Becky's costume and the two of them wandered off while discussing the spectacle of professional wrestling. Turning to see who else was about, Emma spotted Zack for the first time that evening.

"Hello there Captain," she told the teen with a smile. "You look great."

In fact, Zack did make a rather good facsimile of Captain James T. Kirk. Though the costume was inspired by the recent big screen remake, Zack's bearing seemed to evoke more of a young William Shatner.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be a very happy Shatner or Kirk at the moment.

"I don't know why I'm here," he said.

"Oh cheer up," she said encouragingly. "The night is young. And I know London is looking forward to entering the costume contest with you." She paused. "Who's she going as anyway?"

"I don't know. She just said it would match min…HOLY MOTHER OF...!" Zack's sudden exclamation died off as his entire vocabulary temporarily fled from his brain.

Emma quickly turned to see what had commanded his attention so…and her jaw dropped.

"London?"

The heiress was wearing some sparkling scraps of metallic fabric, strategically placed to preserve decency. At least that's how it appeared at first. On closer examination, Emma realized that the girl was actually covered up quite well…it was just that the cloth had been tailored to give the illusion of showing off more than it actually did. Part of the trick was that nobody could take their eyes of the skin that was exposed…seeing as how it was a brilliant shade of green.

Connie, dressed in a cute cheerleader outfit, walked up besides the heiress. "So what do you think? Does London make the best Orion Slave Girl of all time or what?"

It was a hard sentiment to argue with. And certainly the attention loving girl was enjoying all the admiring glances she was getting. But when Zack kept looking at her and struggling to speak, she felt a little different.

"Green looks good on you," he finally said.

She laughed. "I know…now I match my money."

The light-hearted banter didn't make her unfamiliar feelings go away however. While she was used to being admired…she was unprepared for Zack's reaction. They'd known each other for years, but now he was all but dumbstruck at the sight of her? It was so unexpected.

And oddly exciting.

"You look really…handsome," she said, feeling suddenly shy. She wondered if her blush would show through the green makeup covering her face.

Connie glanced towards Emma with a huge smile on her face, then she turned her attention back to the teens.

"Go on and enjoy the party you two," she told them. "And I think you've got the costume contest in the bag."

The pair walked off, their attention wrapped up in one another.

"So…I think I should add _Ship's Matchmaker_ to my business card," Connie sad with a smirk.

"You are a hopeless romantic," Emma replied before leaning in and whispering, "and I love that about you."

"Care to dance?" Connie asked.

"I'd love to…but I need to pass for the moment."

"Why?"

"Remember, I'm supposed to be the chaperone here," she explained. "And after your little matchmaking success, I think I'd better keep an eye on Zack and London for a bit." She paused and smiled. "We're going to need to make sure his hands don't go where no man has gone before."

Connie groaned at the joke…but did agree to the sentiment.

In fact, it wasn't too long before they caught Zack green handed.

Still, after the teens promised to be on good behavior, they had quite a fun time at the party.

And while it was impossible to miss the green lipstick smudges decorating Zack's face later in evening, at least his hands were clean.

So, just like Connie had hoped…everyone was happy on Halloween…and for a long time afterwards as well.

**The End.**


	3. Snapplelinz

**Futuristic Lover **

by Snapplelinz

_A/N: Inspired by the lyrics to Katy Perry's "ET", enjoy :)_

* * *

London Tipton was not having a good night.

She opened the door to hers and Bailey's cabin and slammed it for good measure before sinking down onto her bed in a heap of exhausted fury.

The whole night had been an unmitigated disaster from the moment she'd set foot onto the Lido Deck at 8pm.

Tonight was supposed to be about her making a grand entrance. After all, it had been her idea to host a costume party on deck for her school friends on Halloween. So what if she hadn't actually helped at all with hanging up the decorations or setting up the refreshments?

That's what Bailey had the physique and stamina of a bulldozer for.

Plus, it's not like she hadn't contributed at all. She had very generously sponsored the entire endeavour with an array of credit cards courtesy of Daddy. What more did anyone expect of her?

And all she'd asked for in return was to arrive at the party with a hot date, wearing a gorgeous hand woven costume to make all the other girls die of jealousy and to be doted on for as long as the party had lasted.

Naturally, none of that happened.

Firstly, Woody had forgotten to play an opening song to announce her grand entrance; how hard could it be for a DJ to arrange a chorus of trumpets chanting her name?

Secondly, Josh (her hot date) didn't compliment her on her daring costume. All he could talk about all night long was his stupid campaign speech for the upcoming elections for class president. Who cared about something so trivial when there were more important things like fashion, money and Sea Snarfs to worry about?

Ok, so Bailey had made that up just to get back at her for making her sleep on the top bunk and turning her spine into a question mark.

But still, on nights when London couldn't sleep, her mind wandered…

Thirdly, her dress ripped when she accidentally got it caught on a stray nail sticking out from the wooden floor. And Cody didn't have his trusty sewing kit on him like last time during the International Date Line Dance. Talk about unreliable! She wouldn't have gotten into this mess if she hadn't let both Cody and Bailey talk her into having part of her costume made out of polyester just because it was cheaper and kept a couple of stupid kids out of something called a 'sweat shop'.

And it really was a lovely costume.

London ran her fingertips lovingly along the hemline of the silky skirt attached to the sexy bodice which outlined her every curve. She was dressed as a character from one of Woody's comic books, the leader of an alien race named Queen Nernedusun. Her voluminous black hair was done up in intricate braids with silver beads woven through each plait curled into delicate ringlets around her face. A manicurist had attached artificial nails over her French tips; they were cat-like and curled like claws, painted black with alien symbols embossed in the middle of each finger in silver.

Her make-up was bold and dramatic, just like any night when London Tipton painted the town red. Her arched cheeks were emblazoned with bright tips of red blush, as if her face was covered with smudges of dried blood. She wore dark blue eye-shadow and shimmery silver lip-stick on her sensuous mouth.

As for the costume itself, the bodice was a rich blue and purple ensemble with a corset-style camisole in the centre with matching long sleeves which when caught in a gentle breeze, made London look like she was floating. The skirt was the same colour as the bodice and encased with a bejewelled belt; it travelled down to her calves and ended where her silver leather boots began to complete the picture.

London sighed deeply as her hand fell onto her duvet again. She wasn't sure why she was so disappointed about it all. It's not like anyone really took any notice of her melodramatics. Most people barely took notice of her at all. And when they did, it was only to poke fun at the fact that she was just another dumb heiress who had done nothing to deserve her place in the world.

London had wanted to make an impression on her friends and acquaintances. Just once, she had wanted to be taken seriously by someone…

Her thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the sound of eerie ringing in her ears, like someone blowing sharply on a whistle in close proximity. Then it was followed by a loud bang coupled with the sounds of splashing water. London leapt off her bed frantically, thinking that the ship was sinking or that someone had drowned the Aqua Lounge yet again.

Without thinking twice about it, she ran out of her room and began sprinting down the hallway in search of the commotion. When she came towards the hot tub, she was completely stumped.

The deck was devoid of any human presence.

Where was everyone? And where had that strange sound come from, like something crashing into the side of the ship?

That's when she finally saw it, a metallic object, silver in colour and gleaming ominously against the backdrop of the night sky, the tip of it shaped like a massive claw. It was embedded in the centre of the wooden countertop of the smoothie bar like a ginormous fish hook. London gaped in horror at the rest of the make-shift bar; it had literally been torn in half by whatever this thing was that had crashed into it.

Something shaped like a thin metal flap swinging on its hinges to and fro caught her eye.

It resembled a door.

The whole thing was some sort of vehicle, an oval-shaped ship made to fit a grown man inside it.

London nearly jumped out of her skin when a figure rose up to the side of her. He was climbing laboriously out of the hot tub. Judging by the way that his shoulders were slumped and his sinewy arms strained, he was clearly in a lot of pain. This was proven by his clamouring out of the hot tub with a loud splash and collapsing onto the deck in front of London, falling haplessly at her feet.

He was clad only in a pair of silvery pants, dulled miserably against the bright colours of her own costume, torn and frayed by the collision.

But even in the half-light, London could tell that the stranger was breathtaking. Those sinewy arms of his were wrapped in muscle, effortless in their perfection as they ran along the smooth planes of his chest right up to his broad shoulders. His body was heavenly: sleek and strong with a golden tan that brushed over smooth skin, glazed with moisture from contact with the water. His nose was long and arched down to the thin slants of his lips which complemented an overtly brooding mouth. Dark brown hair fell over his forehead in a long and sweeping fringe.

In spite of her better judgement, London found herself reaching forward to touch his cheek gently, just to make sure that what she was seeing was real and not a dream. She gasped in shock when she felt an electrical surge race up her arm, beginning where her hand came into contact with this strange man's luminous skin. The raw power of it literally tugged at the arteries connected to her heart, making her feel a distinct ache in her chest.

"Hi…" was all that London could mumble in the midst of her overwhelming incoherence.

She was instantly drawn to his eyes as he gazed up at her with forlorn perplexity. At first, they had seemed like shimmering pools of black.

But then they began rapidly turning milky white while he gazed at her in alarm, his whole body convulsing rapidly.

"My Queen, I have failed you…" he whispered in dismay.

Something was happening to his skin. It was becoming more and more translucent, as if scabby scales made out of rainbows were forming all over his body. And his face was changing dramatically under her keen stare, expanding and slackening around his cheeks and lips.

He was turning into a…

London couldn't even form the right words when she passed out a few seconds later.

With an almighty lurch, London woke up in her bed.

Her eyes darted around her painstakingly, the brightness of the surrounding light confusing her considerably.

She had fainted, but how had she ended up back in hers and Bailey's cabin again?

She had a vague recollection of being lifted from the deck where she had fallen and remembered the sensation of being carried in strong arms for a few paces before her eyes closed again. She could still feel the warmth of her cheek resting against his sturdy chest, something ticking and whirring away beneath the skin like a firefly…

Who had brought her back and why?

"London, are you ok?" Bailey's voice drifted into her ears.

London turned sharply and saw her roommate and friend staring in concern at her features. She idly wondered if she looked as scared as she felt.

"I-I'm fine. Just had a bad…dream." London answered lamely.

"Are you sure? You look like you're gonna be sick or something." Bailey pressed, coming to London's side and pressing her hand to London's forehead to check her temperature.

"I'm ok, Bailey, really. Just thinking about that weird crash from last night." London mused in a pensive tone.

"Tell me about it. What was even weirder was when Mr. Moseby and the crew checked the ship afterwards and didn't find anything that could've made that noise."

Now London was well and truly stumped.

"Are you kidding me? I really don't think Moseby would've been able to miss the entire Easy Squeezy being flattened like a pancake by some weird space-ship thingy that crashed into it!" she exclaimed in an impatient.

Now it was Bailey's turn to be confused.

"London, what are you talking about? Nothing crashed into the smoothie bar, it's still standing." She pointed out in bewilderment.

"But I saw it! It was ripped in half! There was a giant hook sticking out of it!" London protested.

"London, I don't know what you ate right before you went to bed last night. But nothing crashed into the Easy Squeezy, definitely nothing like a space-ship. The deck's clean. Which still doesn't explain the noise that sounded like a crash." Bailey went on in a pensive voice.

London's brain started working on hyper-drive. She may be stupid at the best of times, but she wasn't crazy.

Something or someone crashed onto the ship last night. Whoever did it must've cleared away the evidence before Moseby and the rest of the crew could find it.

And that someone carried her back to bed after she collapsed when she saw…

"London, where are you going?" Bailey asked suspiciously when the hotel heiress began hurriedly putting on a robe over her silky pyjamas.

"I just remembered that there's something I have to do real quick."

"But it's almost 8am! Tutweiller's class starts in 15 minutes!" Bailey pointed out.

"Save me a seat!" London yelled behind her as she sprinted out of the cabin and down the hallway.

"That girl is more evasive than Cousin Jiminy-Bob trying to hide in the barn during Corn Season…" Bailey mumbled to herself as she began getting dressed for school.

London wasn't sure where she was going. But she let her feet guide her forward as she weaved her way through the crowd of passengers standing near the smoothie bar, which was perfectly erect now.

She felt as if she was listening to the tiniest of whispers, calling out to her and showing her which way to go.

Then she was climbing down the spiral staircase till she stood in front of the newly built Aqua Lounge. The thick metal doors, which usually stood open in welcome, were shut. With a wheezing groan, London managed to push the doors open and stepped quietly inside.

Her heart stopped when she saw the back of him, the muscles in his back rolling with every movement of his body, his hand pressed up against the glass window overlooking a school of fish swimming outside. He was still just wearing the frayed pants she'd first found him in, the rest of his gorgeous upper body still on display for her wandering eyes.

The rational part of London's brain told her to be afraid. But the rest of her body coaxed her on willingly till she stood right behind him. He turned around to meet her steady gaze, his eyes piercing through her like black diamonds.

"I tried to tell myself that it was just a dream. But I knew deep down it really wasn't," she murmured more to herself than to the strange man in front of her.

He steeled himself as if he expected her to attack, bringing his arm out in front of him. But instead of going into an offensive manoeuvre, he simply held his hand in front of her, the palm facing upwards like he wanted to cover her face from his sight.

"I hoped my…persuasion would work on you last night after you collapsed. But I guess I'll have to make use of my powers so you won't remember what really happened." He began in a grim voice saturated with intense melancholy.

"You carried me back to my bed, didn't you? After you crashed your ship into the smoothie bar?" London demanded.

His hand unclenched of its own accord and then rested limply by his side once more. London was secretly pleased that he hadn't carried out his original plan.

"Yes. I checked your vitals beforehand and realised that you had simply fainted and weren't grievously injured. I didn't want you to be cold on the wooden deck." He answered solemnly.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Ben-Onu."

"That seems like a pretty weird name. Can I just call you 'Ben' for short?"

"As you wish."

"What are you?

"I am a traveller from a distant galaxy sent to Earth to do an important mission by Queen Isiu."

He didn't know why he was telling a human any of this, much less one as beautiful as her. Every second he remained here, he endangered the mission more and more. But he couldn't leave, now that she had seen what he had done and transformed in front of her before she collapsed.

"A traveller? Like an…_alien_?" London asked in awe.

"That is a more colloquial term for my kind." Ben-Onu agreed.

"Colakey-what-now?"

Ben-Onu grinned in spite of herself; this human girl was thoroughly adorable when she was confused. He found himself inextricably drawn to her presence.

"I meant to say that the word 'alien' is an acceptable name for what I am."

"Oh? Well, why didn't you just say that in the first place?" London asked somewhat dismissively.

"I have told you what I am and you are not afraid. Why is this?" Ben-Onu queried, his head cocked to the side while he studied London's face.

London didn't have a logical explanation for this. Even the hammering in her chest wasn't from fear, but some other unknown emotion throbbing with every beat of her heart.

"I don't know…" she replied truthfully.

"What is your name?" Ben-Onu questioned.

"London Tipton." London answered with a slight tremor in her voice. "I'm rich," she added with a nervous laugh.

"London, how did you know I was down here?"

"I, uh…took a wild guess. How did you get rid of your ship?"

"I didn't, it's invisible. Are you going to give me away?" Ben-Onu asked seriously of London.

For the first time in these strange 24 hours, London knew exactly how to respond.

"No."

* * *

London sprinted down the small hallway in her Arturo Vertalli boots, carrying several items in her hand. Who knew that harbouring an alien aboard a ship without her friends knowing would be so much hard work?

She grabbed her card-key and unlocked the cabin door in front of her. She caught sight of Ben-Onu gazing at his reflection in the mirror and began babbling rapidly:

"Boy, that was close! I had to spin another lie for Bailey and the gang about where I've been these past few days. I checked Moseby's log book and my old wardrobe cabin will still be vacant for the rest of the low season, so you can stay here as long as you want. It took some doing, but I asked the captain to raise my shoe submarine from where it's hiding underneath the S.S. Tipton; I keep a spare change of men's clothes in there in case I ever need to escape the boat again in a disguise. I figured you could use these in the meanwhile." She concluded with a beaming grin, holding the clothes out at arm's length for Ben-Onu's observation.

She gasped a second later when Ben-Onu turned to face her. There was a reason he had been staring intently in the mirror. His entire chest was covered in pink welts and purple bruises. A gash running parallel to his abdomen was bleeding profusely.

"What happened to you?"

"These are from my crash when I landed in the hot tub."

"But that was days ago! Why are they still bleeding?" London demanded with revulsion.

"It's not as bad as it looks, London. I was able to repair some of the wounds when I first arrived. But I am still quite weakened by the crash; it will take a few more days before the minor wounds heal too." Ben-Onu replied dismissively.

London ran into the bathroom in the lavish cabin and returned a few seconds later, carrying a first-aid kit.

"London, that's quite unnecessary-"

"You said you were too weak to heal them all in one go, Ben. Let me at least close them up for you." London offered in a decidedly magnanimous way that surprised even her.

"That's very generous of you, London. Forgive my impertinence, but you didn't strike me as someone who dealt with these kinds of things in your ordinary life when I first met you." Ben declared while London began cutting a long roll of medical tape with a pair of scissors.

"Don't worry, I'm not offended. Nobody expects a hotel heiress to know about first-aid. It's just something I picked up over the years from my fencing classes. I got hurt a lot when I first started out, so I had to tape myself up all the time. Daddy would've freaked if he'd seen half of the bruises I got just from sparring with my coach." London explained in a nonplussed manner.

She had applied disinfectant to a thick wad of cotton wool in her hand. Now she began rubbing it tentatively across the cuts and wounds on Ben's chest. He grimaced at the contact, but made no sound whatsoever.

"I never knew you could fence." Ben-Onu murmured in an attempt to distract himself from what London was doing or her close proximity to him, her warm breath fanning his stomach.

"Yip, it's just something I picked up when I was a kid. It's the only thing I'm able to do well that doesn't need lots of smarticles."

"Smarticles?"

"You know, being smart and stuff." London supplied.

"I see. Well, that is very useful." Ben offered with a hint of bewilderment in his tone at London's use of the word 'smarticles'.

London wound her hands around Ben's waist to roll the medical tape around his abdomen to cover the cuts and bruises she had just cleaned. They were standing so close, it would've looked like they were embracing to an outsider. The implications weren't lost on London at all while she took a moment to stare at Ben's side profile from beneath her long eyelashes.

"Who is Queen Isiu?" she asked in an effort to distract herself from the allure of his lips being in close proximity to hers.

"She is the leader of my people, London. I've come to Earth to save her." Ben answered grimly.

"Save her? You mean she's here on our planet?" London questioned in alarm while applying ointment to some lesser injuries on Ben's body.

"No, Isiu is not here, but she is gravely ill. A terrible civil war began on my planet a decade ago. There are rebel forces afoot who wish to overthrow Isiu from her place as the rightful heir to the Imperial Court. These men only want to plunder the planet and use its natural resources for their own gain; they care nothing about the people they will be ultimately enslaving in their quest for domination and repression. Their leader is Heon and he is a general in our army. He was once part of the Queen's Court before he fell out of her favour for leading an unwarranted rebellion on another planet. And now he will have his revenge on her if I don't stop him." Ben declared with sudden venom evident in his tone.

London was reminded all unwillingly of her own father's means of taking over corporations simply to strip them and sell off the profits to the highest bidder. But she chose to ignore this for the moment while listening intently to Ben's enthralling tale.

"What are you going to do?" London asked fearfully.

"I volunteered to come to Earth to find the only thing that will heal Queen Isiu: the Crystal of Olympus. According to legend, it fell from the cosmos and landed on a planet in your solar system millennia ago. Its properties contain enough raw energy to power my ship and save Queen Isiu from certain death. But Heon found out about my plan and chased me throughout the galaxy in his own space cruiser. I was forced to crash into your father's ship to hide from him and search safely for the crystal.

I have managed to evade him for now, but I know that he's here somewhere on Earth. If Heon finds the crystal before me, he will only use it for evil purposes, London. He wants the war to continue and for the queen to perish so that he can take her place as the leader of my people. I must find the crystal, bring it back to Isiu and restore balance on my planet."

"Whoa, this is a lot more of a History lesson than even Tutweiller could've tried to teach me." London murmured in awe.

"Why did your face get all…weird when I first saw you by the hot tub?" She asked spontaneously.

"On previous missions to your planet, I have found it useful to…disguise myself to blend in better with your species. What you saw last night was my true form." He replied uncomfortably, not meeting London's gaze.

"So you can change your appearance at will? That is so cool, I wish I could do that." London mused in a wistful manner.

"I am sorry that I frightened you, London."

"It's ok, I'm used to seeing hideous things all the time, like my friend Woody's sixth toe." London teased lightly with a shudder, which lifted the tension considerably.

"I still don't understand why you touching my face was able to lift my disguise so easily. That's never happened before." Ben admitted uneasily.

"Beats me. Maybe coming into contact with the water lessened your powers somehow."

"I suppose it's possible."

"When you almost passed out a few days ago, you called me 'My Queen'. Why did you do that?"

"The truth is, in your Halloween costume, you reminded me of Queen Isiu. The two of you are both phenomenal women."

London couldn't stop the inherent blush from forming on her cheeks. But she recovered quickly by clearing her throat loudly while placing small band-aids on Ben's arms.

"Truthfully, your costume is very similar to Isiu's battle garments," Ben continued in a thoughtful voice.

"The Queen of your planet wears _that _in the middle of battle? Sounds like my kind of royalty." London mused happily, feeling a strange kinship with the alien leader and her choice of fashionable attire.

"Yes, Isiu is unlike her predecessors. She is both intelligent and brave. She is quite a sight to behold when in battle." Ben responded in a tone that was almost wistful to London's intuitive ears.

"Sounds like you've got a crush on her." London teased mischievously.

"Isiu is a remarkable woman," Ben supplied with obvious discomfort, causing London to be smug about her assertion.

"But now that I've met you, London Tipton, I have realised that you far surpass anyone I've ever met in my numerous travels in beauty, intellect and grace." Ben declared with sudden intensity.

There it was again, that unfamiliar pain in a specific region of London's chest, like she was about to have a heart attack. It hadn't been the first time that Ben had gazed at her with his fathomless black eyes that had sent a rippling shiver of pleasure down her spine. When Ben looked at her like that, London often thought that just maybe…

No, it was impossible. They were different species in more ways than one. Ben was powerful, amazing and handsome. For the first time in her life, London felt ordinary in comparison. She had already taken a huge risk just with hiding Ben from everyone. To entertain any more crazy ideas in her head would endanger something more important to her, and that was her heart.

Ben sensed that he had entered precarious territory when London subtly moved away from him and began wiping disinfectant off of her hands with a sanitised cloth. The sudden barrier between them made the ticking sensation in his chest thump with minute throbs of pain that had nothing to do with his physical injuries.

"You never did tell me how you managed to repair the Easy Squeezy. Moseby and everyone else still haven't been able to figure out what they heard on Halloween when you crashed into it." London stated hurriedly as she placed the medical tape back in the first-aid kit.

"It was nothing too remarkable. After I carried you back to your cabin, I used what little energy I possessed to repair the damage I caused when I collided with it." Ben explained nonchalantly while inspecting London's handiwork in the mirror.

"So if your ship crashed into the smoothie bar, how did you end up in the hot tub?" London questioned in confusion when she returned from putting the first-aid kit in the bathroom cabinet.

"My ship has an 'eject' mechanism which allowed me to escape seconds before the crash. The impact caused all of my injuries and impaired some of my powers in the process."

"Is your ship badly damaged? Can you fix it?"

"I'm almost finished repairing it. But I'll still need the crystal to provide enough fuel to get back home."

"So…do you have any idea where the crystal is?" London asked tentatively.

"I discovered what the exact coordinates are for its location. But my computer on-board my ship was damaged by the crash. I'm still working on it to see if I can retrieve the data." Ben answered with a trace of despair in his tone.

"I know I'm not the smartest girl around. But I'll do whatever I can to help you find the crystal, Ben. I promise." London declared steadily, instinctively moving to grasp his hand in hers.

Ben stared momentarily at their entwined hands before staring into her alluring brown eyes. People didn't give London Tipton enough credit. When she put her mind to it, she truly was a force to be reckoned with.

"Thank you, London. You have been far kinder to me than I deserve." Ben replied, injecting as much sincerity into the statement as he could muster.

London coloured slightly at his words, but recovered instantly while staring at Ben with a small smile playing on her lips.

"So the plan's simple: we find the crystal before Heon does. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" she asked optimistically.

* * *

"Stupid computer – this is freakin' impossible!" London shouted in frustration before thumping her fist against the keyboard.

She had been sitting on the Sky Deck on a recliner for close to an hour now searching for information about the crystal that Ben had described for her. And so far, she was drawing a blank with every website she had checked on her bejewelled laptop. Not even the really geeky portals could give her any clues. Being smart was a lot of hard work!

"This is hopeless. How can it be so hard to find something so important?" London fumed loudly with a dramatic sigh.

"London, I was kidding when I said you could find real chocolate chips inside your computer. I was talking about micro-chips!" Zack interjected from a short distance away.

London gave a start when she realised that all of her sea-school friends were milling around her deckchair, staring at her in concern.

"What's up, guys?" she asked in a high-pitched voice tinged with nervousness.

"We could ask you the same thing, London." Cody remarked in a stern tone while folding his arms.

"What do you mean?"

"London, what's going on with you? You've been acting really weird since Halloween. We just wanna know if you're ok." Bailey continued in a worried voice.

"And I wanted to check if you were ok _after_ we had quesadillas for lunch. But I was overruled." Woody piped up with an irritated scowl at Bailey and Maya.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just…working on a school project." London answered rapidly.

"_You're_ working on a school project? Since when? I'm doing better at school than you these days!" Zack retorted.

"Zack, let's not get carried away." Maya interjected in London's defence.

"It could be true! Ever since Moseby made me hall monitor, I haven't been in detention that much lately."

"Zack, you were in detention yesterday!"

"Only because Moseby caught me trying to sneak up to where you were writing your French test. I wanted to wish you good luck." Zack replied smoothly.

"Aww, you got into trouble because of me?" Maya gushed with wide eyes at a smirking Zack.

"You bet I did, honey-bunch."

"Oh, Zack-"

"Could you two of you quit with the 'Sonny and Chad' routine for just one second? We were trying to find out what's wrong with London." Cody interrupted pointedly with a haughty stance.

"And I answered you already, nothing's wrong with me. I really am doing research for something." London responded impatiently.

"What's an Olympic Crystal?" Woody asked with a quizzical frown on his face.

Both Bailey and Cody looked over London's shoulder to stare at her Internet search.

"I don't know – that's why I'm trying to look it up!" London quipped irately at Woody, who automatically took a step back away from her.

"London, I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as an Olympic crystal. Those are Olympic medals." Bailey offered while trying not to laugh.

Cody, who was staring at some of the 'hits' that London had gotten during her web search, suddenly tapped the computer screen at a particular section.

"Wait…are you talking about the Crystal of Olympus?" he asked in a thoughtful way.

"What the heck is that?" Zack questioned of his twin brother.

"It's just a myth. Mars, the Roman God, used his powers to create a crystal taken from the Borealis Basin, located on the planet Mars. According to legend, the crystal was said to have unspeakable powers, one of the greatest energy sources in our galaxy. But in his haste to keep the crystal guarded and hidden from the other gods, Mars accidentally dropped it and it fell into a large crevice somewhere in Valles Marineris, the largest canyon on Mars' surface area. Since then, the crystal has been lost forever." Cody concluded in an ethereal tone.

"Whoa, cool story." Woody noted in awe.

"Of course you think it's cool, Woody. You also thought it was cool when Zack told you that you had rat powers." Bailey remarked snidely.

"Hurtful." Woody retorted.

London's head was spinning with excitement. She had a suspicion that she'd gotten the name wrong, curse her attention span! Everything that Cody had just said matched up with Ben's tale about the crystal.

Could it really be true?

"It's really called the Crystal of Olympus?" London asked excitedly of Cody, who frowned at her sudden attention.

"Uh…yeah. It was named after Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in our entire Solar System and located on Mars. And technically, it's not actually a crystal. It's a piece of rock." Cody answered glibly as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"This is amazing. So there really is a crystal." London mumbled more to herself than the others.

"London, it's just a story. The crystal doesn't exist."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Because if it did exist, humans would've found it by now and would be exploiting it for all of its raw energy. If _we _haven't found it, then I think it's safe to say that nobody's found it." Cody countered arrogantly.

"Well, I wouldn't have quite said it that way. But I think Cody's right, London. I think it's just a myth." Maya added more gently while giving Cody an incredulous look when she noticed London's crestfallen expression.

But London wasn't crestfallen at all, she was thinking incredibly hard. Daddy had once told her a story in confidence about some rock specimens that he kept on the Tipton Space Station. He had spent close to a billion dollars on a space prober for NASA that had explored the surface area of Mars months ago.

They had uncovered something, something that even NASA didn't know about.

Wilfred hadn't gone into explicit details, but he had told London that the astronauts had found a rock in a crevice on Mars that they had brought back to Earth for inspection. They had run numerous tests on the specimen itself and Wilfred had thought it might be extremely valuable.

London had thought her father had meant value related to money.

But what if it was value related to power?

Raw energy that could generate enough power to fuel motor vehicles and increase advances in modern medicine?

It was a long shot, but London had to test out her theory. She knew the rock specimen had long since been returned to the Tipton Space Station for safekeeping. Even if she had to part with all of her diamonds and rubies just to pay off a couple of astronauts to help her, she would get her hands on that rock…

"London, where are you going?" Zack asked in alarm when London slammed her laptop shut and got to her feet.

"I have to uh…polish off some rubies! Later!" London yelled before speeding along the Sky Deck in ridiculously huge heels.

"Now look what you did!" Maya scolded Cody.

"Me? What did I do?" he questioned blankly.

"London was about to tell us what was wrong and you started badgering her about some fictitious crystal!" Bailey answered reproachfully, causing Cody to splutter indignantly.

"If we're done 'checking on London', can we eat some of that righteous Mexican food now? I'm ready to have a fiesta in my stomach," Woody interrupted with a goofy grin on his face.

* * *

Ben-Onu was worried.

It had been two days since he'd last seen London. He feared he had upset her after their last conversation. She had promised to help him with his quest, but perhaps she had changed her mind. He hadn't exactly been subtle when he had made certain remarks about admiring her a great deal.

This hadn't been part of his plan at all.

He had finally finished the repairs on the ship and his computer. But he still couldn't get a proper reading on the coordinates where the crystal was supposedly hidden, and time was running out.

But the more time he spent around the enchanting hotel heiress, the less Ben began to worry about the consequences of failing in his mission. And that unnerved him a great deal.

To his consternation, someone began banging loudly on his cabin door where he'd been hiding. He was about to go into 'stealth mode' when he heard London's voice on the other side of the door. He frowned in confusion and moved to open the door.

London came charging into the room, completely out of her breath and her cheeks flushed with exertion.

"London, what's wrong? You look exhausted." Ben noted anxiously, his hands moving automatically towards her shoulders to check her vital signs.

"I'm fine, I've just been running around the ship trying to hide from Moseby. If he saw me, I would've had a lot of explaining to do about some property I'd stolen-"

"Stolen property? What are you talking about?" Ben questioned in bewilderment once he'd gotten London to sit down on the bed.

"Technically, I did steal it. But it belongs to my father. Or maybe he stole it to begin with, so it was never really his – I don't even know or care! The point is, I found it, Ben!" London gushed excitedly.

"Found what?"

"For an alien with smarticles, you sure are slow. I'm talking about the Crystal of Olympus."

Ben's eyes widened at this statement.

"You found the crystal? But that's impossible!"

"It was at first, but I eventually did. That's why I haven't been around for the past few days. See for yourself." London implored with a big grin on his face.

Ben took the steel cylinder from London and unscrewed the lid with trembling hands. A wisp of smoke escaped its confines and a black object dropped into the palm of his hand. He examined it for a few seconds with a critical eye.

It looked like a rock with tiny craters along the surface and sharp edges jutting out from the sides. But it was lighter than any rock he had ever encountered during his travels through the galaxy. And it was incredibly warm to his touch, like it had been left out in the sun for several hours.

Both he and London jumped in fright when the rock began pulsing in his hands, like something trapped inside of it was trying to get out. Then without warning, it exploded into a bright ball of red light, levitating out of Ben's grasp while it floated in mid-air. To the untrained eye, it looked like a glowing ball of fire, light shooting out from the sharp edges like streams of blood.

Then as abruptly as it started, the light shut off again and the rock fell limply back into Ben's outstretched hand. London, who had been cowering slightly behind Ben's shoulder, finally poked her head out to see if the coast was clear.

"W-w-w-what just h-h-happened?" London asked fearfully.

"The crystal was masquerading as a normal rock. Like me, I think it was trying to show its true form." Ben replied excitedly before placing the rock back into the cylinder and shutting the lid tightly.

"Then that means…"

"Yes. The myth may have been wrong about its exact location, but this is definitely the Crystal of Olympus, London. You found it." Ben answered in a hushed whisper.

Neither of them was aware when they had risen to their feet and began staring at each other intently, the cylinder forgotten beside them on the bed.

"Now that you have the crystal, your ship will be able to fly again?" London asked slowly of Ben.

"Yes, and I'll be able to save Queen Isiu. I'm going home, London." Ben breathed in awe, not believing that the words were really coming out of his mouth.

"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely before grasping London in a tight embrace that made it difficult to breathe.

But she held onto him all the same, silent tears spilling down her cheeks while she felt his warm body against hers, perhaps for the last time.

His black eyes reflected the same realisation, turning a milky colour while he looked at her when they eventually broke apart. A wave of deep despair crashed over them as the implication of the near future hung over them.

And then they were suddenly rushing towards each other, heads bent forward as they met in a blindingly desperate kiss. Their lips crashed together as they finally succumbed to everything they'd been feeling since their first strange encounter. The tears running down London's cheeks fell on Ben's face, her hands wrapping around his neck while he held her waist till they begun to bruise under his iron grasp, his mouth moving furiously against hers.

The ache was back in both of their chests, tugging away at the corners of their hearts with palpable intensity. But instead of blazing pain, it was changing and growing from deep within, searing electricity racing through their bones. London could feel Ben's power floating through his hands touching her skin and she felt like she was flying, her heart thumping violently with exhilaration while her hands swept across his muscular back.

Ben's body shivered and convulsed as it threatened to return to its original form in the midst of his and London's heated embrace. But the strange force pouring out of London's every touch and kiss quelled the pending transformation, basking Ben in an aura of unconditional love and understanding while her hands swept across his broad chest. Ben moaned against her lips as raw energy seemed to float through him, much like the bright red lights which had exploded from the crystal. But the power only served to make their charged kiss even sweeter as they caressed each other gently and drank each other in.

"Ben…" London breathed with intoxication when Ben's lips left hers and began kissing the sides of her face with such loving precision, making her whimper with unrepressed desire.

"London, my Queen…" Ben murmured huskily while running his hands through her raven hair and breathing in her scent.

No words were needed as they continued holding each other, the cylinder glowing bright red all the while as it lay on the bed between them.

* * *

The S.S. Tipton had docked in Sydney for the weekend. The gang had suggested they walk around Darling Harbour for a couple of hours and take in the sights. London had agreed, but her mind was distracted throughout the endeavour.

Tonight was the night when Ben would test out the crystal for the first time and see if it would power his ship so he could go home. He had encouraged her to have some fun with her friends, promising that they would meet up later in the night.

That was before the world ended.

It had seemed that way when the first explosion had struck the Sydney Opera House, sending flaming debris flying everywhere and people running in all directions.

"Get back to the ship!" Ms. Tutweiller shrieked in horror as a flame shot past her and hit a nearby tree, narrowly missing her by inches.

"Everyone, this way!" Moseby yelled, ushering hordes of scared students in the direction of the ship.

He had already instructed the captain that they were leaving immediately. Bailey grabbed hold of London's hand and pulled her forward as they all began sprinting through the harbour.

"What's going on? Are we being attacked by aliens?" Woody shouted as they side-stepped a wrecked car that had been abandoned.

"Don't be ridiculous, Woody! It's a meteor shower from the planet Krypton that'll turn us into cannibal mutants!" Cody emitted with a girlish shriek.

"Cody, quit freaking out! We have to get the girls back to the ship in one piece!" Zack snapped reproachfully while keeping a firm grip on Maya's hand as they sprinted forward.

London would've kept going if she hadn't seen a disturbing sight to the left of her occurring close to the Sydney Bridge.

There for all the world to see, Ben-Onu stood in front of the massive steel expanse, his space ship a few feet away from him in plain sight. But he was in trouble, fighting off a figure attempting to stab him with an ominous-looking spear, the blade gleaming in the half-light. The wind carried their voices easily over to London, who understood in an instant what was happening:

"Goddammit, Ben-Onu! Don't be a fool and perish for nothing! Give me the crystal!"

"I would rather die than see you have it, Heon!"

"London, what are you doing?" Zack yelled when London disentangled herself from Bailey's steely grasp.

"I have to go back!"

"Are you insane? London, get back here this instant!" Bailey commanded in a stern voice.

Woody and Zack moved to restrain London, but she took care of them in an instant, elbowing them both sharply in the noses before sprinting away. She felt moderately guilty for taking such drastic measures, but she needed to get to Ben-Onu before Heon killed him.

Ben held the crystal in his right hand while using his left hand to ward off Heon's attacks with the spear, kicking at his legs to throw him off balance as the fight continued. A swirl of flames danced around them that seemed to be coming from Heon's clenched fist, which he was attempting to throw at Ben on top of everything.

"Oh no, he didn't…" London murmured heatedly, picking up a brick which lay at her feet.

"Hey, Heon! You want a rock? Come and get it!"

Heon turned around sharply on the balls of his feet and London barely repressed a shudder at his grotesque features.

"Damn, you've got a face only a mother could love! Why are the bad guys always so hideous?" London murmured idly to herself before taking aim.

She put as much force behind her throw as she could, sending the brick sailing through the air like a Frisbee. It caught Heon on the side of his head, causing him to teeter off-balance, knocking the spear straight out of his hand. It flew up into the air and Ben caught it deftly. Then with one swift manoeuvre, he ran the spear right through Heon's middle, the gleaming blade protruding through his back with a sickening crunching sound. Heon gasped and gurgled in alarm and pain, a bubble of black fluid forming around his lips before falling to his knees. Then his mouth went limp and his eyes slackened as he rolled onto his side and became deathly still.

London took a few tentative steps forward while Ben stood hunched over while trying to catch his breath. The churning of bright orange flames from Heon's hand had disappeared, the surrounding debris the only evidence of his attack on the city.

"Are you ok?" London asked breathlessly, coming towards Ben, trying very hard to ignore the revolting sight of the dead alien lying a few paces away from her.

"I'm fine, you distracted Heon sufficiently in order for me to finally end him once and for all. Thank you," Ben replied sincerely.

Without warning, his space ship lit up like a football stadium and a motor sounded in close proximity.

"Your ship…" London trailed off in awe, noticing for the first time just how majestic it looked.

"I was starting it up when Heon caught up with me. It's finally ready to go." Ben responded with unrepressed exultation evident in his voice.

"And you're sure the crystal will work now?"

"Let's find out."

With a wide smile on his face, Ben ran and opened a silver panel on the side of the ship where London guessed the engine was located. He placed the red crystal into a slot that matched its irregular shape. The light seemed to fill up the entire harbour with a warm and deep glow.

"Wow…" London marvelled.

"Yes, that pretty much sums it up." Ben agreed, matching her tone.

The glow faded and was replaced by the lights of the ship itself, preparing for a take-off.

"It's time, London." Ben declared with sudden gravity.

"I want to come with you," London answered automatically.

Ben turned to face her, his eyes crinkling with intense sadness. London broke down at the sight, salty tears running down her cheeks in torrents. Ben moved towards her and held her face in his hands, catching teardrops between his fingertips.

"I wish I could take you with me, more than anything I've ever wanted. But I must fulfil my duty and serve my Queen." Ben whispered in London's ear.

London closed her eyes and inhaled a shuddering breath that literally made her chest throb with pain. "This is so unfair." she sobbed miserably.

"I know, and I would give anything, even my life, so that you would be spared a moment of unhappiness. But you've done an amazing thing tonight. You have saved an entire planet from certain despair and ultimate destruction. You are a true heroine in every sense of the word, London Tipton. Don't ever let anyone tell you differently." Ben murmured vehemently, his own voice unsteady with emotion.

London rested her forehead against his and hugged him tightly.

"I'll never forget you, Ben."

"Nor I you. When Isiu is restored to her former health, I will come back to you."

"You promise?"

"Yes. And just to seal the deal, I'll leave something very important with you to demonstrate the seriousness of my promise."

"What's that?"

"My heart."

Butterflies erupted in London's stomach when Ben cupped her face in his hands and crushed her mouth with his own. Her hands wrapped around his back as she deepened the kiss, losing herself completely in him and him in her for a few blissful seconds. Something akin to the heat of fireworks spread through their bodies as their noses brushed gently, frantic heartbeats interwoven, eclipsing heart-wrenching desire.

It was still radiating and pulsing between them when they broke apart. London lifted her head to stare deeply into Ben's eyes while he continued caressing her cheek with a lone finger, grasping her other hand tightly.

"I see you finally fixed your clothes." London teased lightly.

Ben silver pants were no longer torn and frayed, but fitted with matching boots that resembled those of astronauts and a matching jacket that covered his muscular frame well.

"I thought it might be too strange arriving at the Imperial Court in your sweater and jeans." He murmured slyly, causing London to blush profusely at his words.

"Take my heart with you and keep it safe." She implored in husky voice.

"I will."

London watched as Ben climbed inside of his space ship and started up the engine. A loud whirring sound erupted, showering the machine in a sapphire haze. Then the spacecraft began lifting gradually off the ground till it hovered a few feet in the air. With an almighty roar, the ship reversed slightly just to slingshot through the heavens, hurtling through Earth's atmosphere before it became just a dot twinkling in the starry sky.

London felt something heavy in her hand which was still clenched into a fist at her side. She opened up her palm and stared in awe at the chain wrought out of silver. Ben had slipped it into her hand right after he had kissed her. Strange symbols were engraved onto the metallic surface. But London ignored all this and stared dumbly at the illustration of Ben's human face which had been carved onto the pendant with acute precision. And under his face were the words 'For My Queen' embossed with a delicate touch.

Even though her heart was breaking deep within her chest, London knew that she wasn't alone anymore. Somewhere out there, Ben was soaring through the galaxy, racing past the planets on his journey home.

Someday, he would come back to her.

And she would wait patiently, light years if necessary, until he returned.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this little Sci-Fi fic of mine :) **_

_**A big thanks to Wikipedia for giving me some much needed information on the planet Mars; the tale of the crystal is a pure fabrication. And I found a cool website that generates all kinds of futuristic names too, which I used for this fic :D **_

_**If you want an idea of what Ben-Onu should look like, I was inspired by Francisco Lachowski, the Brazilian underwear model. Look him up, I think London would definitely approve ;) **_

_**Happy Halloween, everyone!**_


	4. Boris Yeltsin

**Girls Bite Dog**

by Boris Yeltsin

* * *

Bailey tried to keep London calm.

They were trapped on a farm in Maine after Bailey's Ford Pinto had broken down.

To make matters worse, the dog who lived on the farm, a St. Bernard had gone rabid, and had attacked them several times, and had bit London on the arm.  
Bailey couldn't get throught o Cody, and her cell phone was going dead.

London was fighting to stay concious as Maine was having a heat wave.

"Stay with me."

London knew they had to find a hospital, and soon.

Bailey heard the growling.

"Here we go again." The dog came at them.

Bailey managed to stun him with some mace she'd been givin after she and Cody had been mugged during a date, and finally managed to kill him with a broken baseball bat.

Eventually, Cody found them. London wasn't so lucky. She'd died form dehydration from being stuck in the car so long without air conditioning. They would be able to move on from this, but life wouldn't be the same without her.

**The End. **

_**editor's note: **This may be the shortest story ever in one of the collections...but it shows that we are happy to encourage new or less active authors...and that anyone out there who is thinking about sending in a story should go ahead and do so. _


	5. woundedhearts

**Behind the Veil **

by woundehearts

* * *

Maddie pulled back the flap entrance to Madame Olga's tent. She'd never been to a fortune teller before, but she thought it might be kind of fun to see what this one had too say. After all she was at a carnival and wasn't getting your palm read part of the entertainment?

"Come in my sweet one and take a seat at my lonely table," she said waving a hand over to the chair set before her. "I see it is a fortune you seek?"

"I suppose so. I am after all in a fortune teller's tent."

"Ah, a skeptic," she stated. "Please take a seat. Maybe I can help persuade you into becoming a believer."

"No offense but I highly doubt that."

"Don't be so quick to make a judgment call. A closed mind is a terrible waste."

"So is an empty pocket book," Maddie mumbled to herself before sitting down in front of the woman and placing her hands on the table palms up.

As she waited for the woman to prepare herself for the visions she would see, she took the time to inspect her surroundings. It wasn't anything fancy which surprised her a bit. In fact it was very tastefully decorated, which was a far cry from what she'd envisioned. She expected to see bright colored curtains and a flamboyant head dress. But this woman was dressed modestly in a pretty pink sundress and a cardigan.

"I take it I'm not what you expected?" she smiled delving into her thoughts.

Maddie gave her a quizzical look and made herself more comfortable. "Alright you've got my attention."

"I suppose you'd like to know about your future?"

"Depends on what you'll be able to tell me."

Maddie sat for a few uncomfortable minutes while Madame Olga studied her and she found herself wishing she was privy to her thoughts. After a minute or so she became inpatient and was about to stand up when the woman said something that made her pause.

"You're not supposed to be here."

"Really, so where am I supposed to be?"

"There's a man," if Maddie didn't know better she could almost swear the woman had shuddered.

"Isn't there always," she replied ignoring her last thought. "Let me guess, he's tall dark and handsome and he's going to whisk me away to his castle, where we will live happily ever after with about a dozen children."

When Maddie finished she realized the woman had a faraway look in her eyes. "There is a man," she repeated and this time Maddie saw the distinct look of fear.

Lucky for her she wasn't one to believe in all this nonsense, but what could hurt to play along. "Alright, I get it, there's this man." She replied rolling her eyes and waiting for Olga to continue.

"He is a sinister, evil man."

"Well that's a new one on me."

"You're not supposed to be here."

Okay now Maddie felt like she was being pulled around in circles. "You're repeating yourself again." She laughed in spite of the situation.

"He's chasing you. I see an empty dark street. You're afraid and crying out for help. But he's drawing closer."

Maddie felt a cold shiver and found herself taking a deep breath. She was about to ask the woman how she could be in two places at once when to her dismay Olga closed her eyes and began to whisper words under her breath. In fact if she didn't know better she would think she was chanting something. The blond girl found herself becoming a bit leery. Every fiber in her being was telling her to leave the tent. But when she tried to stand up she realized she was trapped in her seat.

Maddie panicked. "What's going on?" she cried but the woman was still in her trance like state and she wondered if she could even hear her.

The atmosphere in the room became unbearable as a wind slowly swept in and objects were being moved around her. She knew she was screaming but couldn't hear her own voice do to the harsh sound. _What was happening_? She suddenly had the oddest sensation that she wasn't where she was supposed to be. A thought that disturbed her, since she was obviously still in the tent.

"There are shadows on the ground as you make your way around a corner. I see tall buildings and concrete sidewalks. The only light comes from a dim lamp on the corner. You're exhausted and your side hurts. But, you run. You are almost to your destination when you feel a hand on your shoulder."

Maddies heart was beating a mile a minute and she was panic stricken. Her movements showed fear and confusion as objects continued to whirl around her. She wanted to cry out to make the woman stop but she couldn't get the sound out. It felt as if she were slowly suffocating and she didn't know how to stop it.

"The man...he's got you. He traps you and you have no chance of escape."

The only two words going through Maddie's mind were _please stop_. She tried to release the woman's grip on her hands but couldn't pull away. She wanted to escape, wanted to run. She wanted fresh air. This place, she couldn't breathe and she found herself becoming light headed and disoriented.

"He bangs your head up against the wall and wraps his hands around your neck. Then you are gone."

The wind stops and the atmosphere in the tent returns to normal. Maddie is feeling better and her confusion is gone. Looking over toward the woman she see's she is staring straight at her. She seems to be waiting for Maddie to say something. Her anger is boiling to the service and she finds she's got plenty to say.

"What the hell was that?"

"You're not supposed to be here."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You are no longer a part of our world," she replied and Maddie could hear the sympathy in her voice.

"What do you mean," Maddie sighed placing a hand on her forehead. "Now I'm repeating myself."

"Maddie, you're dead. That man killed you."

The blond girl had to take a step back to really let those words sink in. Even still, she didn't believe them. "Lady, you're batty."

"You must leave, you don't belong here anymore."

"I am leaving, I'm leaving this tent," she cried turning. "If this is the kind of sick joke you play on other people, you need to consider getting some serious help."

* * *

Maddie left the tent and ran right into the hustle bustle of the carnival atmosphere. There were crowds of people talking and laughing. There were children playing games and begging their parents for more time on the rides. Instantly she felt more relaxed and alive. _Alive_ where did that word come from?

She spotted London and the twins standing near one of the ticket booths and smiled. She instantly made her way over to them feeling like a giant weight had been lifted. In that moment she made a promise to herself that she wasn't going to let some crazy lady ruin her fun.

"Hi guys," she smiled at her friends but they didn't respond. "Hello?"

"Where is she," London whined. "The line for the thunder bolt is getting longer."

"I'm sure she'll be here soon. She probably just got held up by Moseby or something," Cody guessed.

"I agree," Zack replied looking over toward a group of girls that had just arrived. He smiled at a particular one as they passed by.

"Zack you have a one track mind," Maddie shook her head. "So who are we waiting for?" Still no answer, what was this, ignore Maddie day. "Seriously guys, not funny."

"London why don't you and Zack go and hold our place in line," Cody suggested. "I'll stay here in case she shows up. I think I'll give the hotel a call as well."

"Alright," As Zack and London left Cody opened his cell phone and dialed the hotel's number.

"Hey Skippy," she heard him say. "Yeah, yeah…ok, sure. Skippy, as soon as I get back I'll take a look at the computer for you, but for now, I need some info."

Cody waited for a few more minutes while Skippy talked. By the look on his face she could tell he was getting annoyed. "Skippy enough, I'll look at it later."

She could hear a faint apology on the other end before Cody continued. She was beginning to wonder what the heck was going on when she heard something that made her freeze in fear.

"Have you seen Maddie?"

"Cody I'm standing right next to you."

"We've been waiting for almost an hour and we're getting worried," he paused for a moment to listen to what Skippy had to say. "What time did she leave?"

"I'm right here. Hello?" she said waving her hands in front of the boys face as a fear embedded itself within her.

"That doesn't make sense she should have been here by now," Cody stated. "I'm going to try her parent's house, maybe she stopped there for something. If you see her tell her to give me a call."

Maddie felt like she was going to be sick as she recalled what Madame Olga had said. It can't be true, can she be dead?

"Liam calm down," she heard Cody say. "Your parents are where?"

* * *

Before she realized what happened she was standing in a hallway. Unsure of where she was she looked for any signs that would give her an idea. She noticed it right away and she shivered. The word morgue hung over the door like some bad omen. The next thing she realized is she was standing in a room with large doors on her right and a body stretched out under a sheet in front of her. _What the hell?_

"It's just this way Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick."

An old man stepped into the room looking tired and warn. Judging from his profession she could understand why. Behind him stood her parents, what were they doing here?

"Now I realize this is hard for you. Unfortunately we have to make a positive ID before we can proceed. Since your daughter's drivers license was found a couple of blocks from where this young lady was found we have no choice but to ask you to verify if they are one in the same. Do you understand?"

Her parents simply nodded and waited for the man to pull down the sheet. Her parents immediately burst into tears. As for Maddie she was too much in shock to really do much else but stare at the lifeless body now laid out on that cold piece of metal.

"What happened?" her father managed to ask in between sobs.

"I won't know the extent of what happened until after I do an autopsy, but it's my guess she was strangled."

* * *

"I knew you'd be back," Madame Olga sat at the table, her hands folded calmly waiting for Maddie to speak.

"It has to be a lie. I must be dreaming."

"I'm sorry, I wish you were," she replied to the poor shaken girl.

"Then how am I here," Maddie asked. "Am I a ghost?"

"Yes."

"This can't be happening. I was so young. I had so many plans. I'm not ready."

"I'm sorry, but no one really gets a choice in the matter."

"So that story, that man…that was true."

"Yes," Maddie let that sink in.

Was it a mugging, she couldn't have had more than fifty dollars with her. It wasn't fair.

"Who is he?" she asked.

"I don't think that is important right now."

"How is that not important, he killed me."

"If my vision is correct he will be found and prosecuted for his crimes."

"And if your vision is wrong?"

"I know what you are thinking, but you must leave this to the living."

"Who is he, I want a name."

"Maddie."

"No - name?"

"I don't know his name," she answered.

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand, why me?"

"The police will conclude that you were at the wrong place, at the wrong time. But we all have a destiny. And unfortunately all roads lead there. It's not something you can fight or run away from. It simply is. You must accept this. I am truly sorry."

"How come you can see me and no one else can?" Maddie asked the woman.

"Because I'm the veil."

"The what?" she asked confused.

"I'm the veil between this world and the next. I am here to guide lost souls to their final destinations."

"And what is my final destination?"

"That depends upon you," she replied. "It's different for each one of us."

"I thought there was one heaven."

"Heaven is what we believe it to be. Therefore it is different for each one of us."

"Well now you're making a lot of sense."

"It's confusing. But, just know that this is where you are supposed to be."

"Can I say goodbye to my family one more time before leaving?"

* * *

Suddenly Maddie was standing in a church. She couldn't help but feel if she wasn't careful she'd get whiplash from all the moving around. St. Anthony's was decorated beautifully with flowers aligning the altar. A marble aligned casket sat in the center as her friends and family began to file inside the building.

Sitting through a funeral was never a fun experience, but sitting through your own was worse. She couldn't seem to pry her eyes from her family for longer than a couple of minutes. There were her parents and brothers and sisters, as well as Mr. Moseby, Carey and everyone from the hotel. Most openly wept for her, the rest seemed to be carrying a permanent lump in their throats.

She did however enjoy listening to the eulogies and what everyone had to say. She never realized what a vital part of her life these people had become. And why not, she shared everything with them. She was going to miss them all dearly.

After the funeral everyone gathered in the Tipton ballroom for a luncheon in her honor. All her favorite dishes were laid out for the guests. Peering over at it she almost thought she'd heard her stomach growl but knew that was impossible.

She was watching everyone chatting when London suddenly ran in with an article in her hand. They'd caught the bad guy she said and everyone jumped out of their seats in an effort to be the first to find out who had killed her.

Maddie noticed the picture but didn't recognize the face. She did have to admit Olga was right, he did have a sinister feel to him. A dark pocked complexion, a long sharp nose and two beady eyes that seemed to bore into a person. Javier Fuentes was described as a danger to society but what caught her eye was the caption underneath. A police officer was quoted as saying he would kill his own grandmother for pocket change. Anger again began to take shape and she found herself wanting to know more about this man.

* * *

"I hate to say it but, we don't have enough to pin him down for this murder," she heard an officer say as she stood inside the Boston police department surrounded by detectives. "I think he may walk."

"That's not right," one of the men said. "We know he did it."

"Yes, but we also know that knowing something and being able to prove it, are two different things."

"I know," the first man replied. "Nothing short of a confession will give us the leverage we need."

"I can tell you one thing," the other man said picking up the phone. "I am not looking forward to seeing the expressions on the parent's faces of that poor girl when we tell them that their daughter's killer will go free."

* * *

She was then standing inside what appeared to be a twelve by twelve foot cell looking down on the man whose picture was in the paper. There were a few benches surrounding the area but thankfully he was the only one currently being held. The room had three concrete walls and a set of bars as a barrier.

She wondered how much time she had before he would be released.

She began to think back on all the ghost stories she'd read about. All the movies she'd seen about what spirits can do when pushed to the limit. Then an idea formed.

* * *

Javier sat looking through a magazine that appeared to be about ten years old. The writing was fading and the pages were torn but he was willing to deal with it for the few hours he knew he'd be here. He thought about the girl he'd killed the other night. He knew the cops were buying their time in the hopes of finding something concrete on him. But, he knew an airtight alibi courtesy of his current girlfriend would cut them short. He couldn't help but laugh. He'd be home by dinner time.

He continued reading with a smile on his face when suddenly it began to get pretty chili in the room. Figuring they had just turned on the air conditioner he pulled his coat a little more tightly around himself. A few minutes later he wondered what was going on when he could see his breath in the air. It felt like he had walked into a cooler or some sort of a freezer plant.

"Okay this is nuts," he grumbled to no one in particular. "Come on guys turn up the heat. It's getting hard to breathe in here." When no one answered his plea he became agitated. "Damn pigs."

He forced himself to relax and ignore the apprehension building inside of him. Reopening his magazine he turned his attention back to the article he was reading on cars when he heard a strange noise. Looking over his attention now remained on the bars in front of him. The sound of someone almost taking a sharp object and running it across the bars made him pause. There was no one physically there, but he could feel another presence. Again he took a breath and again he watched it leave his body.

He forced himself to pretend that nothing was off but he couldn't keep from glancing over in the direction of the bars every few minutes. He was so distracted that when his magazine was knocked out of his hands it took a minute to register what had happened. He jumped up in a panic and ran toward the bars. He began shouting for someone to help him. When two officers showed up he described what happened and told them that their jail was haunted. A few minutes later they walked away laughing.

"Idiots," the young man shouted.

They thought they were so smart but he knew the truth. His grandmother had taught him all about the spirit world and that it was not something to ignore. Turning back toward the room he mustered his courage and stepped into the center.

"Who are you, what do you want?"

"_Confess…"_

"You don't scare me!"

"_Liar…_"

He suddenly felt someone or something shove him. He jumped screaming for the guards. None came. Suddenly his chest felt heavy and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. He went to sit down on the bench and when he did he froze. Two hands were around his throat squeezing. He suddenly knew how that girl must have felt. An animalistic terror engulfed him and he began to fight. Unfortunately fighting is a lot harder when you can't see your attacker.

"_Confess…"_

Tears were rolling down his eyes and he was clawing at his throat trying to relieve the pressure. His mind went back to the girl he had killed and he could almost see her now in this jail cell. Of course that was crazy. The bitch was now six feet under. He was thrown up against the wall and scared to death he had no choice.

"Alright, I did it," the pressure was lessening. "I killed you."

"Who?" asked one of the detectives who were standing outside the cell. Apparently his shouts for help had garnered quite a crowd.

"That Maddie chick," he shouted. "Get her off me."Suddenly he collapsed onto the floor gasping for air.

The men standing around didn't know what to think. There was absolutely no one in the cell with him. Some of them suggested a psychiatric evaluation be done but others insisted that it wasn't necessary. They were determined to believe that Javier was doing all this as some kind of a ploy to keep out of prison. An insanity plea would guarantee that.

When he jumped up screaming to them to be put in another cell, they had conditions. One of those being a confession. He instantly told them everything that happened that night, down to what the girl was wearing and where he'd killed her and left the body. It was all they needed to know and when they opened that cell Javier finally felt relieved.

* * *

"Did you have fun?" Olga asked her.

"He's going to prison," Maddie smiled. "That was my only goal."

Olga eyed her knowingly. "Maddie."

"Alright, I may have had a bit of fun. But, I'm hoping now that he has confessed it will be easier for my family and friends to move on and be happy."

"How did the detectives take his confession?"

"I don't think they believe that he was attacked by anything but maybe his own conscience."

"Speaking of moving on."

"I know," she smiled. "I can see the light."

"But…"

"Where do you think it leads?"

"I think you have to figure that out on your own," she replied with compassion. "I know you're afraid. But, I honestly believe with all my heart that you will find your own piece of heaven when you get there."

"It's time isn't it?" Maddie asked.

Olga nodded.

"No unfinished business that I know of anyway. Like you said you can't run or hide from destiny. Right."

"That's exactly right."

Maddie looked over toward a corner of the room and there was such a look of tranquility on her face that Olga was almost jealous of the fact that she couldn't feel it. As the blond girl stood up she smiled. "My grandparents and my favorite aunt are waiting for me."

"Then I guess you better get going."

Maddie gave the woman a hug before waving goodbye and turning away. Olga waited as she disappeared and couldn't sense her anymore. The next moment the tent was gone and she was also on her way to her next destination.

* * *

**_AN: Okay it's not exactly your usual Halloween Tale. Still, I enjoyed writing this and horror is not really my thing. But I hope you enjoy._**


	6. owlhero

**Honeymoon Romance**

by owlhero

* * *

A full moon's glow was trying to penetrate the nippy fall breeze cocooning the building in its grasp. The gargoyle statures watch guard with darkened teeth and claws as the lights of jack-o-lanterns shine against the night below. They waited for the darkness to envelop them and bring the world back to its natural and terrifying state.

Among all this was a room.

There were rose pedals on the ruby red satin bedsheets.

The curled forms slept, just waiting for human movement to dislodge them.

There was glistening champagne in the ice bucket.

Water droplets ran down the glass as zebras run from lions towards hopeful safety.

An air of expectation in the room.

Of completion. Of the next step. Of passion and hearts beating in paired rhythm…

Of the unexpected.

Stillness layered the room.

A high pitched voice obliterated the perfection of it all.

"Marion, isn't the bride supposed to carried by the groom, not the other way around?"

Emma Tutweiller looked toward her new husband as she stood at the entrance. His head barely above the door handle. His feet shadowing the door hinges. A look of embarrassment and annoyance sketched on his face as he looked up toward his blushing wife.

The still white dressed woman put Moseby down, who straightened his suit as he regained his composure.

"Thank you, Emma. I did not realize I could not lift you until your feet stayed on the floor."

"Marion, its not your fault you were given the height and strength of a garden gnome."

Moseby looked back at Emma with a glare a certain pair of twins would know so well. But the glare lost its muscle as his wife smiled at him. A subverting smile. He proceeded to unload the luggage cart and its cargo into the suite.

* * *

"Marion, would you please stop acting like a Tipton manager for one night, please?" Curtains were moved, drawers opened by the husband's hands. His investigation thwarted by his partner's medusa eyes. Her red snake hair expanded by the excitement and stress of the day. Her spouse paralyzed for a second at the sight but shook himself.

Marion Moseby moved toward the king sized bed Emma was in, her face cleaned of its former gorgon features. Her face revived the beautiful angel silhouette he saw as he lifted the veil earlier the same afternoon in the church. A slightly pointy nose jointed against a face of chocolate brown eyes framed by flaming red hair.

Graceful from the days of practice of being a showgirl with skin toughened by Vermont winters.

Not right for everyone but perfect for him.

"I'm sorry but I wanted everything to be perfect for you. Both of our's luck has not been for the best with love." The man smiled and grasped the woman's hand tightly as he slid into the bed.

The pair's misery. One from work. The other from heartbreak. Both free from their misfortune and responsibility for the moment. All their attention on each other. The two adults blocked everything that was unimportant at the moment.

The lights in the room flickered on then off completely, bathing the room in the moon's light.

"Well, that's odd. Then again it's a full moon tonight so weird things do happen." Emma's voice broke the darkness.

"I'm going to see Esteban about this." But the husband was stopped by the wrapping arms of his new wife around his arms. Her nails touching his goosebump covered chest.

"Never mind" Moseby paused at the forceful touch of the bride and the covers magically placed themselves over his darkened form.

"You know in the darkness, you never know what could happen?" The teacher's voice sang with humor into the shorter figure's ear.

Moseby smiled in the dark as his wife's touch reminded them of the whirlwind day they had.

"Thinking of something?" Emma's voice shifted his focus to the present.

Moseby nodded then realized she could not see his nodding in the dark.

"Yes, today and other things." He could almost feel his newlywed's amusement and exasperation touching his soul.

"I am the only one who thought the priest looked a little weird?"

Moseby chuckled at the question.

"No. He was a little too pale for my liking. Almost like he had not seen the sun in days. Add fangs and he's Dracula. His skull was poking through his face."

A shudder was heard in the darkness.

The lights switched back on in the room and Moseby turned over to face his wife.

"See? Everything's fine."

Moseby rolls his eyes "I am just worried the twin tornados had something to do with it."

"Please, I know for a fact, both are in college. Carey said so herself. That's why we waited to have the wedding so long." A chilling smile appeared on Tut's face. "If those two had interfered in my wedding or honeymoon in any fashion, getting a passing grade in a class would least of their worries.

Tutweiller's eyes blazed as she continued.

Let's just say it involves all those cats I used to own. Maybe several pounds of fish or catnip too."

Moseby thought he heard evil laughter from the depths of her voice and his soul quaked.

The companion diverted his attention to looking around but only by moving his eyes, so as to not inflame his consort. He saw a bowl with candy in it and put it in between them.

The bowl of chocolate heaven broke the woman's gaze. She looked down and smiled at the obvious bribe.

"Food to calm the beast?"

Moseby nodded submissively, handing a piece to her with a hesitant hand.

Emma accepted the gift and leaned forward and kisses her husband on the cheek.

The heartbeat of one person slowly calmed after the contact.

"There's a note in the bowl….It says Passionate Love Candy. Make your romantic nights even more so."

"Let me see that" Tutweiller gave Moseby the note, who laughed out loud at the ridiculous notion.

"REALLY! …I don't believe it. "He looked at his wife and both shrugged their shoulders.

The crinkling of paper and crunching of cocoa filled the room and the bed as the two humans enjoyed the guilty pleasure. They only stopped once or twice at the off taste of the chocolate but not enough to stop eating.

"Oh, let's not forget the reception" The red head told the man as they continued their remembrance.

"Ugh… that spider. Why did that spider have to crawl across the head table?" Moseby's shoulder sagged as he finished.

The married couple's eyes told the story.

How a young woman could tear apart a reception with a simple scream. And it only got worse from there. In front of a full sitting crowd of friends, family, VIPs and strangers.

The young woman grabbed a metal serving tray from a random server.

Champagne glasses falling to the floor, shattering. Little rainbows in each backless mini mirror. The bubbly liquid ran along the floor, trying to hide in the wooden crevices.

The serving tray slammed against the table, annihilating the offending arachnid. Screams of "Die, Die, Die" echoed in the room as limbs and eyes splattered against the padding as enzymes covered a small spot on the tray's underside.

Then after she finished her attempt to wipe out all spiders, London Tipton proceeded to terrorize every last server, cook, or bust boy with firing and drove the restaurant owner to tears by threatening to buy him out and throw him out onto the streets.

Only with Moseby pulling the young lady back from the scene was an international event averted.

"It figures with all the drama both of us have dealt with, our wedding would never be perfect."

"Yes between our parent, jobs and lives, we were destined to have a crazy wedding" Moseby said with a begrudging smile.

"Having my mother making a comment about marrying a short man almost made me want to disown her. And that's after all the time she spent mocking me about never finding a spouse" Tut responded. Her voice rising to another stress level while her hands wringed one of the blankets on the bed. Her hands relaxed as she looked at Moseby.

"Hey, my mother was begging me to get married, every day of my adult life" responded Moseby.

"It does not matter now, we are married now. No one can take that away from us" Emma utters with a smile. An uncanny one. Unrecognized by her betroved.

Moseby leaned toward Emma and wrapped his arms around neck and slowly his gazed buried itself in her chocolate brown eyes as their lips contacted. No fireworks, just the pure essence of two souls in romance. Nothing existed for the pair except their beating hearts, firing neurons and the glorious contact of their skin. One did not want it to end. But it did. The slightly colder air around them, a chasm between their mending souls.

"Bonne nuit, mon amour" The French words melted Tutweiller's heart as she remembered the previous times Marian used the romantic language when they were alone.

Precious. Essential. To her.

Emma Tutweiller's last visible sight was of Marian Moseby's hand inching towards the controller for the lights on the bedside table.

* * *

HAAAAAAAA!

A girlish scream woke up every human, animal and creepy crawler in the Tipton Hotel.

In Marian Moseby's midst was not his beautiful wife, not his love, or his bride but a zombie.

With dried blood on its face, gray fraying ligaments and pink stretched muscles showing underneath ripped skin.

Teeth stained red and rotting gums reflecting off a blackish- brown mouth. The nose, a jagged mountain among the flaked off skin, showed the pointiness of the protuberance.

Its patchy hair not even covering the thinning skull. A gap showed whitish gray brain matter. Eyes black as night with its irises locking onto Moseby's life form. The whites of the eyes practically dripping out of the eye socket.

A hand reached out to him. White bones flashing into view through the tissue and the blood.

Marian fell backward off the bed backward, stars in front of his eyes as his heads bangs against the floor. His feet in the air, spread apart.

His vision cleared. A nauseating sight. The thing staring down at his fallen form with a deformed facial expression, its mouth moving.

_But that's impossible. Zombies can't speak._

As he retreated backward from the decaying vile object, Moseby's elbows created dents in the thick carpet. Rug burns being ignored.

His back against the wall, sweat on his brow as hell's reject slowly but surely staggers off the bed. Haphazardly, the undead moved toward the almost retching man on the floor. A clear view of the muscles, ligaments and tendons working as it swayed toward its dinner.

A sound came out of its damaged vocal cord. Eerie. Unnatural. A moan.

Moseby watched in horror as he realized he could be a barely married man, unable to have any children of his making. Dying before having a fulfilled life and growing old with his wife. Tears started to accumulate around his eyes.

Human instinct kicked in and kicked out the unfocused fear. Eyes looked around for a weapon. Found one. A sword used as a gaming controller but now as the last defense of life.

Fingernails appeared in his vision and used the blade of the synthetic sword to thrash against the limb of his destruction.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Anger raged in his blood as the former manager stood, willing to fight till his last breath.

The zombie retreated in shock as if confused by the cornered mammal's response. The undamaged limb again advanced forward.

This time in conjunction with a sound. An impossible sound. A name.

"Marian?"

The man ignored the name, the question, only focusing on his continued existence.

Again the name was spoken. This time with emotion, perverted by a zombie.

"MARIAN!"

SLAP!

A hand sized mark appeared on Marian's face. His eyes rolled in the back of his head for an instant. His mind baffled over the confusion of the situation…_When does a zombie slap somebody?... _with the freight train adrenaline rush in his blood with his heart pumping precious blood through his still active corpse.

His eyes cleared.

_Impossible…_

In front of him was his beautiful redheaded wife. Tears started to run down his face. The sword dropped to the floor as his hands lifted themselves toward Emma Tutweiler's face.

"Emma, its really you?" Moseby's voice was a mixed of happiness, confusion and incredibility.

"Why Marian, who else would it be?" Emma's voice full of shock and amusement.

"I thought you were a zombie?"

"A zombie?... A zombie!" Marian flinched as the woman's screech abused his eardrums. " I know I don't look beautiful without makeup on, but a zombie is severely pushing it. You' re starting to talk like London does."

"I'm sorry" Moseby said with a sheepish smile. "I woke up and all of a sudden, this image of a zombie appeared in front of me and I just got scared. I still don't know why it happened."

"A nightmare maybe?...But…" Emma's voice was cut when both adults heard voices outside the suite. Whose door was mysteriously open a crack…

* * *

"This is easily the most ridiculous and insane thing you have ever come up with…Trying to get rich by looking for gangster treasure is one thing, putting blue dye in a swimming pool is another. Heck, even pushing me into a hallway with nothing but a thin bath towel is trivial compared to this… Oh by the way, butt naked for the whole world to see for a few precious seconds." The boy rose to crescendo at the way with his dagger eyes staring his target of sibling contempt, annoyance and even love.

"Cool off, bro. " Zack could not help but smile at the memories the two of them pulled off at the world and each other for years. "It was just candy. "

"You gave them chocolate that was past the expiration date."

"A few days past the date. No problem."

"Try a few months past the expiration date. It says on the package. Where was it, at the bottom of your trunk?" The staff in his hand swung forward with every point for emphasis. The striped curved tip inches from the forehead of the other twin.

Zack, shifted his eyes to the ground, ran his hand through his hair wig and swallowed "Um, Yeah."

"Unbelievable. You always forget the details. They could gotten sick or worse. What if they died, we could have gotten in such trouble. Even we didn't, the guilt would have been terrible. Dare I ask why you gave them the chocolate?

"Well…" Zack adjusted his black leather jacket and put his hands into his pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cody's right eyebrow start to rise as he delayed.

"I thought they needed help in the love making department."

Cody's eyes widened slightly at this but Zack continued.

"I mean they are both pushing 40 if not over, so they need all the help they can get."

By now, Cody was leaning against the wall, shaking his head with his eyes focused on the ground with his right hand on the headdress on his head.

_Typical Zack…_

A resigned smile appeared in his face.

"I don't think they need help…" Cody smile went to a full grin as he looked at his twin "…from twins whose combined experience in that department equals one of them if we are lucky."

"Really I thought it would be the other way around" Zack shot back. "Especially with me."

Cody thought about Zack's cockiness. "I severely doubt that. You have issues keeping relationships, so I don't think you went all the way with any girl. Especially with that costume. There's the hair, the jacket and the faux leather pants. Oh by the way, you are missing the guitar, by the way. You talk a good game but do you know how to finish? " Cody started to laugh as Zack's face fell, his spiky hair flattened out and his jacket started to fade.

"Hey, that's low. Watch yourself, King Tut." But Cody laughed louder. Zack raised his voice to reach over Cody's commotion. "We still to figure how to fix everything especially after that girlish scream, which sounded strangely like Moseby."

Cody finally regained his royal dignity.

"I agree…" But he was interrupted.

"Oh don't bother…"

* * *

Both twins jumped back at the sight before them.

If looks could kill, both boys would be dead and buried. As a matter of fact, both appeared shrunk in their Egyptian Pharoah and 80s rocker costume before the two adults as two night-clothed lovebirds stood before them.

"Huh… hello, Mr. Moseby, Mrs. Tutweiler- I mean Mrs. Moseby, what are you doing?" Cody finally stuttered out. His voice was closer to a 5 year old then his 18 year self.

"I'm not sure…" the phrase slithered out of Moseby's mouth as he looked at his two favorite hooligans but his wife finished it.

"But it seems as through we heard two menaces confess to their crimes. " Both adults slowly started to circle the two young men in their midst.

But the Cobras looked at their prey, wondering the best way to dissect the costumed menaces.

Zack tried to pay attention to both of his former wardens but failed due to their circular movements. Something akin to fear or worry darted into his mind as he looked at the expressions on their faces. He forced himself to speak.

"Well…em… as you see… I was trying to help out…" started Zack but the new Mrs. Moseby finished for him.

"But you failed miserably causing my husband to think I'm a zombie!" Blood was in her twitching eyes "What's next? Stranding us on an island? I mean I've already had to deal with a spider crashing the reception. If one more thing happens to us, the person who does it is going to pay."

Cody flinched at the mention but the teacher caught the movement.

"Cody, you would not know anything about it? Would you?"

Cody fidgeted as his interrogation started.

"Possibly?"

"Cody?" Zack yelled at his twin. "How could you?" True shock and humor in the shorter twin's voice. "I did not know you had it in you."

His twin answered. "The spider was from lab at school and I was responsible for it. I am so dead." Cody voice started to higher and faster as he continued. "I must have left the cage it was in open and it crawled into my backpack. I was there to give my congratulations to you when it must have escaped."

"Seriously, you could not have come up with a better explanation than that?"

Cody's head fired up at the red head's tone. Shocked at the viciousness coming from a person he thought knew well.

Her eyes. Ghosts from the past. Things beyond what he had seen before.

"Emma, I believe him" Moseby says. "It sounds like a very reasonable explanation…

"But he's the nice one right? Really? How much trouble has he caused you on his own, Marion?"

Marion looked at Cody for a second, who had this perplexing look on his face, his eyes on the man's wife.

Memories arose as he remembered all the trouble Cody caused.

"Cody has caused his fair share of mischief but he still has promise and actually tries to set things right" Cody smiles at this. Marion continues.

"Or at least tries to contain the damage. Either way, he has made my life interesting."

"That may true of Cody but of this one?" Emma points to Zack. "As I can recall, he's a walking, talking disaster zone waiting to happen."

Something hit Moseby in the pit of his stomach.

"Well, its true Zack does cause trouble, he does have his heart in the right place. Whether it's his brother or Maddie, it's there."

"Still, he's always trouble. Whether its in the classroom not paying attention or destroying property on the ship or the hotel.

Moseby stayed silent, something in the back of his mind nagging him.

Esteban rushed down the hall toward the group. He briefly looked at the group then focused his attention on the married couple and lowered a piece of luggage.

"Its one of your bags needed for your honeymoon, sir. It was left downstairs in the lobby. I wanted to make sure you had it. "

"Thank you Esteban." Moseby smiled at the former bellhop, now manager, who left.

Emma dived toward the luggage.

"Finally, I was wondering what happened to my luggage with my clothing in it? I just hope nothing was damaged."

Zip. The bag opens. A smile appears on Emma's face. Then…

BANG!

Smoky particles appeared in front of her eyes.

"What the …cough… happened?"

Tears rolled down her face as her sight dropped down to the contents below.

Her voice broke at the disaster.

Her little white dress with thin straps, her prom queen crown and her pink turtleneck were laid on top of the pile. But…

They were covered in thick black dye destroying the silk and cotton fibers. The fake metal of the crown was tarnished. The shininess gone. The hope gone. Nothing more than a dim piece of metal trash ready to be melted down into something better. Ordinary.

* * *

Zack started to sweat profusely as he realizes his heart racing ear pounding mistake.

_I never should have put that dye pack into her luggage…._

His T-shirt sticking to his chest as he witnessed the transformation of Emma… (_No, its Mrs. Moseby…it's weird thinking of her like that…Hey mind, get back on track, you are getting in trouble here!)… _an average looking teacher into a harbinger of death.

Her eyes could curve up the strongest soul. Her smile could freeze the heart of the warmest child. Her face was bloodchilling. Each crease on her face, etching a path closer to true evil. Darkness surrounded her eyes making the brightness even more distinct, drawing in every source of light and warmth. Her hair could torch the whole city down to its foundations.

He half expected to see her in a comic book with space black endless wings sprout from her back and see her flying above them, stalking them until their deaths or until the end of time, whichever came first. Razing civilization as she goes on her warpath.

Zack could feel his entire body shaking with barely maintaining control of his bowels as the scene refused to be absorbed.

"ZACK!"

His head flashed over to his left, seeing something he rarely saw.

Cody shaking, blood completely drained from face, the area around his eyes ashen, swear drenching his entire head. His blond hair faded.

"ZACK! Let's Go!"

Hands shook Zack into full rushing consciousness. Sights and sounds overloaded his mind. His head swerved as he struggled to get back under control.

Slow motion cameras took over his sight as he watched who he thought was Emma Moseby push Marian against the wall. His head bouncing against the wall. In the same motion, her left hand was opening the glass and metal door which held the fire extinguisher and something else….

Zack's feet had other intentions as the walls became a twisted camouflage throw up of beige, deep green and wood.

He barely heard Cody siren sing to keep running with maximum terror in his matching eyes.

Both dropped elements from their costume as they ran. One dropped curved staffs and the other a hair wig, hopping the lightened weight could increase or at least maintain the distance between them and the deranged woman behind them.

Something told Zack to look back. Maybe it was morbid curiosity. What saw almost broke him completely…

It was Emma Moseby. Their former teacher, newlywed bride and now psychotic chasing them down the long hallway with an axe in her hands.

Zack could think of only one thing to do besides running. A desperate thing. But what else could he do…

"Mrs. Moseby"… panting…"We are really, Really"…panting… "REALLY SORRY."

The newly revealed crazy teacher responded screaming….

"You two nearly destroyed my reception and my wedding night, why don't we have a conference about this, you know teacher to pupils. Oh wait how about my cats too? They would love to meet you…"

Both twins only ran faster as they heard this, their last hope dashed as they continued to run from their executioner. The crazy cat lady had made her name true. The males tried to delay death for every single cherished second they could.

What they did not know and could not was the fact London Tipton was not at the Tipton this night. As a matter of fact, they was no one else (besides themselves) on this floor or any of the 5 floors below except for the random staff member. Five floors between any protection, any witnesses or hope.

Both twins looked at each other and the elevators thinking the same thing.

"Come on…Come on!...you darn elevators! You are never there when we need you." Both twins kicked the doors after their shared outburst. Breaths came rapid and short as they turned back and their hearts stopped as they saw their purser coming closer.

Their only chance was the stairs. Those concrete mechanisms of foot travel and stress. Now only if they could get down them all with losing their heads or any limbs…..Or be scratched to death by nearly hairless cats.

* * *

Moseby woke up to stars in his eyes.

_Not again…._

But his brain functions shoved themselves into overdrive as he remembered events from that day and night.

His marriage and the white dress and the black tux. His mother, Beulah Moseby, crying her eyes out as the wedding march played as the pair walked out of the church.

The reception with the wedding cake that twice as wide as the head table and the glass swans decorating the tables with flowers. The sunlight poring through the stained windows of the hall.

The dancing, the cake to the face, the throwing of the bouquet… Finally the wedding night….

His heart broke as he remembered begging and grabbing his bride as she tried to go after the Martin twins. He remembered the demon eyes holding her hostage as her hand made contact with his chest. The shock as he realized what she was trying to do. The broken nails in the air as she moved over him as he slipped into unconsciousness.

_What did I wrong?..._

_All the heartbreak and bashing I received in my life from being a work alcoholic to being cheerleader a ballet dancer and a nerd, I had to pick a closet nutcase to marry_.

His face dropped as he remembered the shiny object he saw his wife (his eyes teared up as he thought of this) pull of the emergency cabinet as he started to fade into darkness.

"Oh my god… the boys..."

He could hear their screams as the axe impacted upon them. The blood gushing from their youthful forms. The end of their troublemaking but wasted lives.

_So much trouble for me…but I still cared for them…Like my own children in some respects._

But now, they were in danger. Being attacked by the woman who thought he would grow old with. Now she was running around the hotel acting like the reincarnation of Lizzie Borden.

His mind was now warring over itself how to act. His wife or the twin tormenters?

Oh to choose… he knew he had the responsibility to act and a way to stop it. A metallic object. One which he kept only for extreme emergencies.

Eventually a judgment was ruled. A decision was made.

His heart lost and his soul and his conscience won.

In the end, what else was there to do?

* * *

_**A/N:** Here is my first Halloween one shot. Thank you to __**DarkElements10**__ for beta-reading. _

_I am not sure if anyone has written this pairing in this way before since I have not read all of the Moseby-Tut stories yet._

_What do you think of it?_

_I would not mind hearing your opinions of how I wrote Emma especially since I have never wrote a female character in such a way before._

_And yes I left the cliffhanger on purpose. To allow the readers to think about the ending and the story as a whole. _

_I keep getting an idea of maybe continuing this or morph it somehow into a full length story. We shall see?..._


	7. woundedhearts and Wyntirsno

**A Super Suite Ghost Story**

by Woundedhearts & Wyntirsno

* * *

Evans Farmhouse

October 1817 – Kettle Corn, Kansas

* * *

Jeremiah ran into the barn desperate to escape the accusing eyes of the sheriff and his men. He hadn't stepped foot in this place since the day he had buried Fred and Sophie below the floorboards. He forced himself not to look toward that corner of the room as he rushed into his office. Tearing an old picture off the wall he pulled open the small safe where he kept a saddle bag filled with cash. He couldn't chance being caught. He had to run. One way or another he was going to get out of here. He had a cousin who lived in Texas near the Mexico border and he was sure that he could get some help there.

He turned around with a start when he heard a noise. Seeing nothing he returned to the task at hand. He paused suddenly when he felt a cold chill in the air forcing him to rub his arms for warmth. Every part of him was crying out that something wasn't right. He searched the room with his eyes looking for anything out of the ordinary but again saw nothing.

Still that nagging suspicion stayed with him. Slowly he made his way out of the office and into the barn itself. Nothing seemed disturbed. Everything was as he'd left it. Yet, he stepped cautiously unable to mask his fear. A small bead of perspiration slid down his forehead and he blinked away the sting. The only light coming into the room was through the cracks in the barn walls.

"_Jeremiahhhh…."_

He stopped dead in his tracks the little hairs on his arms standing on end. It couldn't be.

"_Jeremiahhhh…" _

He quickly turned around. He didn't have to guess, to know, who was behind him. The images of Fred and Sophie were both there and they were angry.

"_Why…"_ came the hollowed voice of his young bride.

"Get away from me."

"Jeremiah open this door," he heard the sheriff's voice on the other side of the barn door. "If you don't we'll shoot our way in."

"_Why…"_ Sophie shrieked in anger.

Through instinct Jeremiah grabbed the shot gun that rested near one of the posts and aimed. "Your not really here!" he shouted again as a banging started. He wasn't sure if it was the pounding on the door by the sheriff's men or his heart beat, but he knew one thing. Fred and Sophie were dead.

"_Whyyyyyy!"_ Fred shouted as the room began to shake and objects were falling off their hinges.

"Jeremiah what are you doing in there?"

"No, no, no, no…" The old man repeated over and over as he fired his shot gun at the two apparitions in front of him. When that didn't work he pulled the pistol at his side and began shooting that.

It took a minute for the smoke to clear but when it did they were still standing in front of him. Terrified he made a mad dash for the ladder that would take him up to the hayloft. He could still hear them asking why as he found a secluded spot near a back corner. Holding on to what little he had left of his sanity, he began to pray and hoped it would get rid of these ghosts.

It didn't and when he was finished he opened his eyes and came face to face with them. Startled he let out a horrifying scream just as the sheriff and his men broke the door down and rushed in guns at ready. What they found sickened them, the remains of a corpse hanging from a chain. The remains belonging to none other than Jeremiah Evans himself.

* * *

Pickett Family Farm

October 2011 - Kettle Corn, Kansas

* * *

The old farm house sat a quarter of a mile east of the small town of Kettle Corn. It was said to have been built in the early 19th century by Jeremiah Evans for his young bride Sophie Langston. Jeremiah was in his early forties when he married the sixteen year old daughter of an old friend he had served with during the revolutionary war. She was young and vibrant and filled with smiles, and had quite a few admirers including a poor local blacksmith named Fredrick Stevens.

"Well the legend goes that over time Fred and Sophie became great friends and some say more. But I refuse to believe that part of the story."

"Me too." London interrupted. "He's poor and she had a rich husband."

"London money doesn't guarantee happiness." Bailey chimed in.

"That's what poor people say." London waved her hand around. "And I'm not talking about happiness. I am talking about a big house with lots of servants."

"London you'll never change." Cody said.

"I change at least four times a day." London stated.

"Not your clothes, your ideals." Cody emphasized.

"Who needs deals when I've got money?" London replied. "And if I need deals then I can always have my daddy buy some for me."

"Not deals, ideals." Cody told the young girl who was apparently confused.

"Codes give it up, she doesn't understand." Zack whispered to his younger brother. "Could we just get back to the story now?"

"Yeah, I would like to hear the ending before Halloween is over." Woody said as he signaled for Bailey to continue.

Bailey smiled and returned to telling her tale as the group of friends quieted down in her cabin.

Jeremiah being a very jealous man didn't like the thought of his wife being friends with Fred. So he had the man arrested for stealing one of his horses. I guess he thought that by framing him it would guarantee the man stayed away.

The only problem is he hadn't counted on Sophie giving Fred an alibi for the time of the said robbery. The charges were dropped and Sophie continued to see Fred in spite of her husband's objections.

Well after a few months people began to talk and Jeremiah wasn't pleased. In fact he was downright outraged, and rightly so, for he officially became the town joke.

One afternoon he returned home from the tavern in town and confronted his wife about her relationship with the young blacksmith. She argued that they were just friends, but he wasn't buying it.

Anyway, while they were arguing, Fred rode up. He heard all the shouting and decided to investigate. Going inside the house he caught Jeremiah with his hands around Sophie's throat.

"He was trying to strangle her?" Maya gasped and felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. She smiled up at Zack and he wrapped his arms around her a little tighter.

"Apparently so," Bailey replied.

Fred got angry and managed to pull him off of her but not before Sophie was knocked unconscious after being slammed up against a glass cabinet by Jeremiah.

Now some say this is where the story gets tricky, because it's been said that it was Fred who accidentally killed her, but others say it was Jeremiah who had done the deed. And still others say she came too and walked away without a scratch, which I don't believe. I don't think that's the way she died, but I also don't think she wasn't hurt.

"So what happened?" Zack asked anxious to know the ending.

"Isn't it obvious in a jealous rage Jeremiah killed them both and they came back and exacted their revenge." Cody added. "Am I right?"

"Yes, but not quite yet."

You see the version I choose to believe is the one where Jeremiah afraid he had killed her, verbally fought with Fred after he told him he was going to turn him into the sheriff. So he grabbed a kitchen knife and plunged it into the man's chest killing him instantly. When Sophie came too she found Fred dead and Jeremiah standing over him holding a knife with blood dripping from it. When he found that she was very much alive he went crazy and blamed her for what he had done.

When he turned his attention on her and raised his knife she made a run for it. She dashed out of the house and across the yard into the barn with him running after her. But still dazed and hurting from her injuries he easily caught up to her.

He killed her the same way he'd killed poor Fred, and some say he buried them both underneath the floorboards inside the barn so that they would not be noticed. The only problem is he didn't take into account the horrific stench of decomposing flesh.

He made sure to tell the townspeople that the two lovers had run off together in order to keep them at bay and dispel any doubts. But the sheriff had his suspicions and one day he came around and began snooping. When he opened the barn door he knew what had happened and where the two people had really gone too. When Jeremiah came home for the day he was waiting along with a few sworn in deputies.

He rushed into the barn and locked himself in, but before they could get to him he hung himself from the rafters off the hayloft. But the thing is that right before he hung himself, he was said to be screaming the names of the two people he killed. And when they found his body, his face was frozen in terror. So now it's said that the barn is haunted by his very restless spirit. And the one night you can see him is all hallows eve. The same night he died.

"So let's meet him," Zack said causing some objections from the rest of the group.

"No way!" Woody argued.

"I'm with him," Cody added.

"I agree, there is no way you'll convince me to go near that place, especially not at eleven o'clock at night," Maya stated.

"Well then that just leaves London and Bailey," Zack glanced over at the two girls. "How about it, are you two up for some ghost hunting?"

"Not me," London replied. "I need my beauty sleep."

Zack looked over at Bailey, "I'm going to have to agree with everyone, I'm not interested in meeting him. But it is a possibility it still may happen." She told him as he walked over and placed an arm around his twin's shoulders.

"What makes you say that?" Zack asked.

"We're sitting a few yards from where the old barn stood, a little less than two centuries ago," Bailey explained making everyone feel a bit leery of their surroundings. "After the original barn fell into decay they tore it down and rebuilt the one that you see today."

"Cool, do you think we'll see him?"

"Zack do you remember our last encounter with a ghost?"

"You mean Irene in room 613?" he asked.

"Yes!"

"Irene?" Bailey asked.

"Yes, she's the ghost that frequents room 613 at the Boston Tipton." Cody stated for everyone's benefit. "We all spent the night in her suite one evening," he added but before he could finish his brother chimed in.

"Cody left his favorite blankie..."

"Zack," the younger twin eyed his brother and encouraging him to change that part of the story.

Zack smirked and continued. "I mean his favorite Jacket. So we had to go back and get it. When we did Irene came into the room and handed it to him," he said with a wink. "And then disappeared into a portrait of herself on the wall."

"Is that true?" Maya asked him.

"Honest Injun," the blond boy smiled. "Cody and I both saw her."

"It's true," he replied verifying that what his twin had said was indeed a fact. "London you know the story."

"It's true," she replied. "She stole a thousand dollars from me."

"A ghost stole a thousand dollars from you?" Maya asked now definitely skeptical.

"London she didn't steal anything from you," Cody explained again. "Like we've told you before ghosts don't need money."

"Then she was jealous of how beautiful I am."

"Yeah….that's it," Woody said rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, it's getting pretty late and I think it's time to hit the hay," Bailey suggested giving her boyfriend a kiss then wrapped her blanket around her and headed up the stairs into the bedroom the girl's would share.

"I agree, night all!" Maya added squeezing Zack in a big bear hug while letting him molest her a bit before she heard someone clear their throat. Looking around sheepishly she followed Bailey and London up the stairs, leaving Woody, Zack and Cody alone in the living room to talk.

"So who's coming with me?"

"Zack we already told you, no," Cody said annoyed with his brother. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Because, I know you, if I don't give you a little push you won't ever get off that safety net of yours."

"Come on guys," Woody stated. "Don't argue."

"Alright, then you two can sleep here all by yourselves while I do some exploring."

"Great, have fun!" Woody smirked.

"Yeah, Zack don't forget to lock the door behind you and take your key with you."

"I can't believe you two aren't coming with me," he sighed extending his bottom lip. "Even though it may just be the last time you ever see me again."

Woody and Cody rolled their eyes and continued walking up the stairs. When they heard the door open and close they paused realizing Zack had been serious about leaving.

"He actually left," Woody looked to Cody surprised. "I didn't think he had the guts."

"I'm not surprised."

"Do you think he'll be okay," Woody asked. "It is pretty dark out there and if that story is true."

"Woody there is no such thing as ghosts."

"But the story…"

"Forget about the story. I'm more worried that Zack will fall down and break his neck tripping over a twig or something."

"A twig – really?"

"You know what I mean," Cody whined. "I guess we better go and get him."

"Out there, in the dark, with the ghosts…"

Cody almost laughed at the expression on his face. "Yes out there, in the dark, with the ghosts."

"Do you have some kind of a death wish?"

"Woody be serious and grab us some flashlights while I throw on my sneakers."

"Should we wake the girls?"

"No let them sleep. Besides we'll be back before they know we're gone," he assured his friend.

"Alright," Woody whimpered. "But why do I have to go?"

"Safety in numbers."

"Fine," he whined. "But you owe me."

"Yeah yeah, let's just get this over with," Cody said as Woody handed him a flashlight and they cautiously made their way outside.

* * *

"No, don't put that there," Maya told London as they were dragging the scarecrow to the hayfork to hook him so they could hang him over the boys.

"Yeah London, we need to have the scarecrow on that fork at the end of the rope so we can pull him up over their heads," Bailey explained further.

They almost had everything set up thanks to Bailey's expertise in farming equipment when they heard a noise. Thinking it was the boys on their way in they ran to hide. As they ducked behind the stack of hay in the corner, they thought they heard the latch on the barn door lift and a man's voice yelling. Bailey peeked over the top of the bails thinking it was Zack…but there was no one there.

Looking over toward Maya and London she could see they both had similar expressions on their faces. "What was that?" Maya asked realizing the boys hadn't walked into the barn.

"Maybe it was the ghosts," Bailey laughed as London gasped clutching her purse a little tighter to her chest.

Maya and Bailey both rolled their eyes and continued working on their prank. "Come on girls, we have to hurry for this to work. We don't know when the boys will show up." London said as she sat on a nearby haystack, exhausted from the excursions she'd been through in the last ten minutes.

"London how is it that you tire so fast?" Maya asked her.

"The girl has servants for everything," Bailey answered for her.

Maya nodded in understanding when they heard another noise coming from the back office. From their vantage point they could see inside the office. When they didn't see anything they continued on. Another couple of minutes passed and they heard a distinct male voice that made them freeze in their tracks.

"Okay this is creepy," London told them. "Let's forget about the prank and go."

"London, be quiet before they catch us," Maya whispered putting her hand to her lips as they started running for the door.

When they opened the door to escape they ran head long into Zack almost knocking him over. "Zack thank goodness its you!" They all yelled together.

"What are you three doing out here, wait what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," he grinned at his own joke.

"We didn't see one but we definitely heard one." Maya cried as she grabbed onto her boyfriend.

Just then Cody and Woody ran up, so Bailey jumped into Cody's arms as well.

"Bailey what's wrong?" Cody asked worriedly before looking toward his brother. "Zack what did you do now?"

"Nothing, I just got here," he answered. "Besides what are you two doing out here, I thought you were heading to bed?"

"We changed our minds. What happened?" Cody asked the girls who were still trembling.

"There's a ghost in there," London gasped opening up her cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Bailey asked only to be silenced by a raise of London's hand.

"Yes operator, I need the number to the Ghostbusters."

Woody sighed taking the phone from her and sticking it in his pocket. "I've got a question. Why are you girls even out here, I thought you went to bed before we did," Woody queried.

"Um…that's not important. We heard a man in the barn," Bailey cried as she hugged Cody tighter.

"Really, and what exactly did he say?" Zack sarcastically asked as Cody glared over at him.

"Let me guess, boo," Woody chimed in making Zack smile.

"No," London rolled her eyes and placed both hands on her hips. "He told us to get out of his barn."

"Then he said my name," Bailey shivered as she whispered that into Cody's chest.

"He knows your name?" Woody asked astonished. "Do you think he knows mine?"

"Woody, she's lived here all her life," Cody remarked.

"So, that doesn't mean anything. Ghosts do have connections you know."

Cody ignored him. "Did you see anything?"

"No," Maya replied. "But we felt a cold chill right before he spoke to us."

"Maybe it was Jeremiah back from the dead seeking revenge."

"Zack," Cody interrupted.

"What?"

"Shut up," he told his brother. "No seriously, I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is no such thing as ghosts."

"Then how do you explain that," Woody cried pointing up to the door of the hayloft.

Everyone halted as a lone figure stood looking down at the six individuals staring back up to him in shock. Woody was the first to take off running with the rest of the group catching up fast. They stopped just as they reached the front porch of the farmhouse and looked back to see if the man was still there. He wasn't.

"We need to go see who that is," Cody said a little shakily. "Then throw him off the property."

"Yeah ok, you first," Woody said.

"Come on guys Cody is right we need to go tell him to leave," Zack supported his little brother.

"You know he was here first I say we just forget about it and send Bailey's dad in tomorrow," with that said London turned to leave only to feel a hand wrap around her arm to keep her there.

"We all go or we all stay I say we take a vote," Bailey exclaimed. "All for staying raise your hand." Zack, Cody, Maya and Bailey all raised their hands. "Okay majority rules."

"Dang it…." Woody pouted as he and London stepped in behind their friends while they slowly made their way back to the barn, arming themselves with tools as they went. They found several sturdy ones, leaning against the door.

Grabbing a shovel Zack moved to open the door and as it opened it made a loud creaking sound. "I don't remember it doing that before," Bailey remarked.

"See it doesn't want us to go in there," London protested.

"Fine then you two can stay out here and keep watch," Maya said directing her comment to both Woody and London.

The two looked around and for the first time noticed the eerie atmosphere. "No, no I think we should stick together."

As they moved across the room in a tight clump, Zack looked back, "You know we remind me of a Scooby Doo movie."

"Leave it to you to think of cartoons at a time like this," Cody mocked.

"Hey don't knock cartoons you can learn a lot from boomerang," Zack said over his shoulder as he moved away from the group to look around.

Woody brushed his shoulder, "stop it." He felt a tapping and brushed again, "Come on guys' not funny stop it…" he turned and to his amazement nobody was there. And as with anything unpleasant he pretended it didn't happen, much the same way he pretended Steve wasn't his new stepfather.

He felt another tap on his shoulder and ignored it until he felt someone pull on his hair, "Okay I am not going to take anymore abuse from you," he put up his fists, "Come on," he shouted as he started bobbing and weaving.

"Woody what are you doing?" Cody stared at him in disbelief causing the others to glance in their direction as well.

"I'm about to throw down. This ghost is a dead man."

"Woody," Cody patiently replied. "Every ghost is a dead man."

Just then a noise caught their attention. It was coming from the loft above their heads and it was definitely bigger than a barn mouse. "Where's mighty mouse when you need him?" Zack teased.

"Enough with the cartoons," Cody pleaded. "This is serious business."

"Your right little brother and no one does serious better than you," he replied pushing Cody toward the ladder. "Up you go."

"Hey wait a minute, when did we decide I was the one going first?" Cody complained.

"Well your not going to make one of the girls go first are you?" Zack said. "And you certainly don't want to go behind Woody…"

"Hurtful."

"Ewww," London complained.

Another noise caught their attention and Cody cleared his throat. "Well here goes nothing."

He ascended the steps one by one and managed to make his way up to the loft. When he was half way there he was startled by another noise accompanied by a shriek and the scarecrow that the girls attached to the hayfork came barreling toward him making him scream bloody murder as he lost his footing. Thankfully Zack was below him and managed to grab a hold of him before he fell completely backwards.

Unbeknownst to the twins everyone's attention had shifted and they stood frozen in terror as they looked into the transparent face of a psychotic killer. He levitated before them holding what looked to be a large kitchen knife in his hand. The blood was still visible as it dripped slowly to the barn floor and disappeared before them.

"Um guys…" Maya whimpered. "Zack?"

"What?" he snapped as he realized everyone was silent.

The boys looked in their general direction noticing that their expressions matched, and it was one of fear. They turned in tandem only to almost fall off the ladder again when they saw a very real looking ghost.

"What the heck?"

Zack helped Cody off the ladder as they all made a run for the barn door, only to discover that they were locked inside. "Check the back!" Maya shouted as they headed in that direction only to find it blocked by the ghost.

"What do you want!" Bailey shouted. "You don't belong here anymore, get out!"

She realized too late, that was probably the wrong thing to say as the walls began shaking around them and everyone began to scream.

"_Why did you leave me…"_

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"_They took you away from me…"_

Bailey took a step back as she finally processed what he was saying, "I think you have me confused with someone else."

"_It's so cold and I'm so lonely..."_

"Keep him talking, "Cody whispered. "We're going to try and find a way out of here."

"Who are you?"

"_My name was Jeremiah Evans."_

"You're a murderer," Maya told him. "You killed your wife."

"_You don't know that, you weren't there, it wasn't my fault."_

"What do you want?" Bailey asked.

"_I watched you grow up. I loved you from the beginning and now you want to leave me again."_

London whispered. "Why would she want to stay with someone like you?"

"You don't understand."

"We understand just fine," Bailey replied. "You killed two innocent people and now you're paying for your crime."

"Sometimes the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Sometimes death isn't the intention."

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Cody asked as he started up the ladder with his brother a step behind.

"I hope so," he replied as they made their way over toward the opening in the loft. "This is perfect; we just need to find a way to get the girls and Woody up here without tipping off psycho boy."

In a flurry of wind the door in the loft was thrown shut startling everyone as the lights began to flicker on and off and the floorboards began to shake. The entire scene felt like a bad horror movie and the kids tried desperately to escape as they banged and clawed at the wood that kept them entrapped.

Suddenly the front doors were kicked open and two men stormed in holding guns in their hands. When they aimed them at Jeremiah the kids took this as an opportunity to make a run for it. As they did so they heard two shots go off. To their astonishment the ghost was gone. Everyone stood outside as the twins walked out followed by the two strangers.

"You killed him!"

"Woody I've already told you," Cody said a bit annoyed. "You can't kill a ghost."

"Yeah, well a minute ago, ghosts didn't even exist," Woody crossed his arms eyeing his friend. "I would like to be the first to say, I told you so."

Cody glared back at his roommate as everyone's attention remained glued on the two men. "My name is London," she said sashaying over toward them.

"Hi my name is Dean," the shortest one of the two spoke first only to have the other one pull him away.

"Jailbate," they heard him whisper. "My name is Sam Winchester this is my brother."

The group of friends introduced themselves and waited for them to continue. When nothing else came Bailey stepped forward. "So what brings you both here?"

"You mean what brings us here now," Sam smirked. "With a ghost on the lose."

"Exactly," Cody eyed the two suspiciously.

"Sight seeing."

The six friends looked at one another. "Sight seeing?" they repeated with a few raised eyebrows.

"Sight seeing," Dean and Sam repeated looking to one another.

"You honestly expect us to believe that?" Zack chimed in.

"What are you all doing out here anyway?" Sam asked them.

"Ghost hunting," Zack answered for all of them. "You probably wouldn't have believed this if you hadn't seen it for yourself but that thing in there was a ghost."

"Was it now," Dean exchanged a look with his brother soon rolling his eyes. An action that Zack didn't miss. "Look kid, it's obvious you and your friends don't know what your doing. So right now I think it's best if you head back inside and leave the ghost hunting to the big boys."

"Dean."

"What…"

Zack stepped forward. He was almost the same height as this Dean guy but nowhere near the height of his brother. Still he wasn't in the mood to be dismissed like a small child too young to understand what was happening. Dean never one to back down also stepped forward only to feel himself being tugged backwards.

"Sam let me go this kid needs..."

"Go ahead and try it," Zack glared at him.

"Zack…"

"What Cody, this guy is ticking me off."

Sam was about to give Dean a lecture about tormenting kids when there was a piercing shriek heard coming from inside the barn. When they did inventory they noticed Bailey wasn't around. Cody made a beeline for the barn door only to be stopped by Dean and Sam who blocked the entrance.

"You can't go in there," Dean shouted.

They heard another scream and Cody pushed past them. Before they could catch him he had the door open and had rushed into the thick of things. The doors slammed shut just as everyone else was about to follow him in.

"Damn it," Zack cursed banging on the door then choosing to kick it in with his foot. "I have to get in there."

"Wait Zack stand back," Dean shouted to the older twin making him jump out of the way.

He then took aim with his rifle and blew the hinges off the door. When the door collapsed in front of them they all rushed in to find an empty barn.

"Where did they go?" Woody asked.

"They disappeared," Maya announced.

"Oh no the aliens are back."

"Woody be serious," Maya corrected him. "If anyone took them it would be Jeremiah."

"That's odd," Dean told the others. "These spooks don't usually take anyone."

"Something is not right," Sam said. "They have to be here somewhere. Spread out. Dean I think it's time."

"Yeah I'm on my way," he replied as he ran out jumping over the door he blew into chunks just moments before.

"Hey why is he leaving?" Zack demanded.

"He has to kill Jeremiah, and for that he needs to get to his grave," Sam patiently explained.

"What do you mean, how do you kill a ghost?" Zack asked.

"You have to torch his remains," everyone looked to him confused. "I'll explain later. Right now we need weapons," Sam grabbed a pitch fork, a shovel, and an ice pick then threw one to each of the kids. "Let's find the others."

"What can these do against a ghost?" Woody asked. "Won't they go right thru him?"

"Just use them, trust me. I've been doing this all my life."

As Zack walked into the office he was calling out to his brother and was shocked when the floor moved. A secret door had been installed underneath the mat and Cody and Bailey were hidden in the storm cellar.

"Codes," Zack shouted with relief. "Everyone they're in here."

Everyone came rushing in and Cody demanded they follow him down into the storm shelter. As they did they followed Bailey out into the fresh air. As soon as they were clear of the doors they ran over toward the trees, but when they looked back they saw Jeremiah standing within the entryway of the shattered door. Bailey guided them into the kitchen and they all took a minute to catch their breaths.

"Bailey do you have any salt in your house?" Sam asked the brunette. "A lot of salt."

"We do, Momma was saving it for pickling," She beamed as she headed for the pantry.

* * *

Dean pulled his car into the Kettlecorn cemetery in search of dear old Jeremiah. When he came to the area where the grave should be he pulled over and grabbed the necessary items to torch the creep. Walking through the cemetery at night was nothing new. However he was anxious to get this over and done with when he spotted the early hour on his watch.

Looking down on the mound of dirt at his feet he said a silent prayer and began to dig. A tedious activity in and of itself, but after a half hour of digging he found nothing. He walked the few steps back to his car and pulled out the yellow folder he and his brother had borrowed. According to the records this was the spot.

Something had been irking him from the get go and he dialed Bobby's number. "I have a problem."

"Yeah, what else is new," the man gripped. "I have shit to deal with."

"Look little Miss. Sunshine, your shit can wait I need answers and I need them pronto."

"Alright don't get your boxers in a bunch. What do you need?"

"Jeremiah Evans. I need verification on where he was buried," he asked him. "There's only one cemetery in Kettlecorn. According to the records I have in my hand he's buried there."

"There is only one cemetery – today."

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean growled.

"There was an issue with the land where the original cemetery was placed. Something about diseases reeking havoc on the crops and livestock. So around the beginning of the twentieth century the cemetery was moved and all the bodies with it in order to keep everyone safe."

"So where the hell is the guy?"

"Well my theory is to save face and time they didn't move all the bodies, only moved the headstones. So if we back track and find out where everyone was buried in the original cemetery we'll be able to torch the sucker in no time at all."

"That sounds like a plan," Dean's call waiting beeped and he looked to see who it was. "Hang on Bobby its Sam. Yeah…"

"Dean where are you?"

"I'm still at the cemetery, I ran into a loophole."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning the guy isn't buried here. Did you know this is the second cemetery?"

"Yeah all the bodies had to be moved from their original plots because of some freakish disease."

"So when were you planning on sharing this news with me?"

"I didn't think it was important because I found his burial records at the new site."

"Nice Sam, well guess what, not all the bodies were moved. Which means, I'm guessing neither was good old Jeremiah. Sam hang on," Dean said as he clicked over. "Find anything?"

"I know where the body is, I'm sending you the info now," the older man informed him and Dean was in his car before he said his goodbyes.

"Sam hang tight," Dean told his brother. "I'm headed over to the sight of the old burial ground. If Bobby is right the body was never moved."

"Alright keep me posted."

"I need volunteers," Sam started.

"What for," Zack asked.

"We need to spread this salt around the barn just in case he can get out. That way he will stay trapped," Sam answered. "And I would really like to do it before he decides to try to get out."

"OK, Cody and I will help you… right Codes?" Zack volunteered himself and his twin.

"Oh sure, if it will get this over with, let's go," Cody grudgingly agreed.

As the three men walked out toward the barn to begin their task, the girls decided for safety sake to also place salt in every opening to the house. Maya was in the living room when she suddenly felt a cold draft and a strange feeling that she wasn't alone. She turned around and came face to face with not only one but two entities. She paused for only a second then took a handful of salt and threw it in their direction. Instantly they disappeared, leaving a very satisfied Maya in their wake.

Bailey rushed in just as they disappeared. "What was that?"

"I'm taking a wild guess and saying Fred and Sophie," Maya replied.

"How do you know?"

"One was a woman and one was a man."

"Quite an observation."

"Do you have any other ideas?" Maya asked the girl.

"We'll go with Fred and Sophie."

"That's what I thought," the brown haired girl replied before walking over to the final windowsill.

London walked in after overhearing their conversation, "what do you think they want?"

"Maybe they are looking for Jeremiah," Bailey absentmindedly remarked.

Sam and the boys returned with Woody in tow who had just finished with the upstairs bedrooms.

"We have a small problem," Bailey stated. "There is more than one ghost."

"Fred and Sophie?" Cody knowingly asked and the girls nodded.

"What do we do?"

Sam was about to answer Bailey when his cell phone rang. "Dean what's going on?"

"The deed is done," his brother said answering his question.

"So Jeremiah is gone?" Sam asked not quite believing him. "We have another issue Fred and Sophie are back."

"Damn it," Dean growled. "What the hell is it with these damn spooks not staying gone." He told no one in particular. "Hang on I'll track them down."

Just as he was about to hang up he looked out and standing in the barn window was Jeremiah. As he watched the apparition disappeared and reappeared behind him a second later. Much to the horror of the others standing in the room, Sam immediately raised his weapon and slashed through the spirit sending him back to hell for the time being.

"Dean we have a problem," he told him.

"No kidding Einstein."

"There has to be something else," he stated frustrated by the whole thing. "Something we're not seeing."

Suddenly Sophie appeared and Zack picked up a fireplace poker before Sam stopped him, "No wait, she won't hurt us. She's trying to tell us something."

"What is she trying to tell us," Bailey asked.

"Where is it Sophie?"

"It's the rope the girls put the scarecrow on," and she was gone.

Sam rushed out of the room still holding onto his cell phone. As Sam headed for the barn, the other boys turned in unison and glared at the girls.

"Why were you hanging scarecrows?" Zack accused. "You know you almost killed Cody with that thing."

"Um shouldn't we be helping Sam right now?" Maya asked sheepishly.

"Yeah I think we should go," Bailey agreed as she tried to go around the boys heading for the door.

"Let me guess," he started. "This was your idea?" he asked the tall brunette as he started walking towards her.

"Really Zack it was just supposed to be a joke, who knew there was a real ghost."

"Guys," Cody interrupted his brother and his girlfriend. "We really need to go help Sam in the barn, what if Jeremiah comes back while he is out there alone?"

"Cody's right, I don't want anybody putting a scratch on the hhhottie," London added sounding like she was clearing the H out of her throat.

Zack gave Bailey a warning glance as he walked out of the house and the others followed.

"Sam what the hell?" Dean gripped when the line went dead.

Knowing the situation he realized that was his cue to head back toward the Pickett farm. In his experience silence was never a good thing and he wasn't going to let any two hundred year old mothball hurt his brother. Jumping into his Impala he gunned the engine and was soon leaving dust clouds in his wake.

A few minutes later Dean came to a screeching halt near one of the kids as he raced over to meet him. "It's got him," Zack shouted as Dean grabbed his equipment. "We've tried and we can't get to him."

"Son of a bitch," Dean shouted racing into the barn.

"They're in the loft," Woody shouted.

"Sammy!"

"Dean!" the younger man shouted down to his brother as he leaned over to try and reach him.

Sadly it was in vain because in the next moment they all watched as he was thrown up against the far wall. Dean didn't hesitate as he jumped onto the nearest haystack and made a grab for the edge of the loft's floor. Without much effort he pulled himself over and cocked his gun blowing several holes into the dark image in front of him. Sam was on his knees in a matter of seconds finally free of Jeremiah's hold.

"Dean the rope," Sam shouted.

"I'm on it," Dean answered but was taken back when he was thrown up against his brother and they both slid across the floor and into the far corner.

"We have to help them," Cody whispered to Zack as they stood horrified.

"I know," Zack replied a bit shaky.

"Guys maybe you should wait outside," Cody told the group, Bailey and Maya stayed with them but they weren't surprised to see Woody and London racing for the exit. They would have been amused if not for what was going on just above their heads.

Zack started up to the loft the way he saw Dean go, he had to reach that rope before the other two brothers were killed by Jeremiah. He got to the top of the pile and jumped for the rope, luckily he landed on top of the scarecrow. As he grabbed the straw man it started to head to the floor rather fast with Zack holding on for dear life.

"Zack be careful," Cody yelled.

"No problem Bro, me Tarzan you Cody…hehehe," he laughed.

"Burn the rope Zack, quick," dean hollered to him.

"You got it buddy," he yelled back as he started to run out of the barn. Just then Jeremiah appeared in the doorway blocking his way out.

"Here Zack, catch," Woody shouted from outside the door.

He threw the lighter toward him and it sailed right though Jeremiah and into his hands. The older twin didn't hesitate but a second before he flipped the lid and set the thing on fire. The group watched in horror as Jeremiah turned into a ball of flames disappearing a moment later into cindered ashes.

Dean and Sam soon joined them on the ground and they all walked out into the fresh air. The night of horror had ended and everyone was relieved to have survived the ordeal. As Dean and Sam threw their weapons into the back of the trunk the kids thanked the two brothers for their help and asked them to stay a couple of days. They were about to decline when Bailey mentioned that her mother had baked a fresh peach pie. Dean never one to turn down pie immediately agreed.

As they headed into the house they saw the first rays of the sun coming up over the horizon. Zack yawned, Cody stretched, London grumbled that she'd never seen the sunrise before. "Well that was fun," Woody said as they headed into the house to get some much needed sleep. Everyone looked at him like he had lost his mind and rolled their eyes.

As they all wondered through the front door they missed the two spirits that lingered in the loft, who smiled at them and then turned and faded away.

* * *

_**AN: **__Sam and Dean Winchester are a part of the __**Supernatural**__ show that currently airs on the CW. I couldn't resist incorporating them into this story and luckily Wyntirsno agreed with me. :)_

_Anyway, here's wishing you all a safe and Happy Halloween!_


	8. Tiger002

**Faith **

by Tiger002

* * *

If the world ended today, what would you do?

Weep, cry, party, maybe all three?

What if I told you at midnight tonight, the world would come to an end?

You'd laugh, ask me what drugs I was on, wouldn't you?

Don't lie.

How could I know? I don't. I'd be crazy to claim I did.

It's not like I'm the god of this world to decree when it will end.

But what about the world where I am? The world where I am creator and destroyer. Where not a soul lives without my approval. My mind, my imagination. These worlds are mine to harness. And now I shall relay what they would do, should I tell a certain unfortunate soul that their world would come to an end.

…

_Woody_

"Who said that?"

He turns around, the dark room obscuring his vision. He doesn't know if I'm a voice inside his head, or outside.

_Get up._

"Where am I?"

A common question for one torn from his reality.

The darkness fades.

And everywhere there is nothing but light. Nearly blinding the poor soul. But this is all part of the plan.

He covers his eyes, the light too much for him.

Poor kid. But I need him for the message.

_Where you are doesn't matter. Don't worry about it._

"How can I not worry about it?"

Once again a logical question for but a mere character in this story.

_Instead you should worry about what's going to happen._

His eyes widen despite the intense light. He waits for me to continue. It's funny, what he sees, what he doesn't.

_At midnight tonight, everyone is going to die. They won't see it coming. They won't know what's going on. _

"Wait, how, why, what-"

_Silence._

He takes several deep breaths. Good, he will be useless if his impatience takes hold.

"So…"

But he wouldn't be Woody if he wouldn't wonder what was going on. He's smarter than he lets on, has a sharp mind, when he cares about things of course. He just needs a little push. And what works better than knowing that you're the only one who can stand between life and death.

_Tonight. Midnight. They will come._

"Who?" he practically screams this time.

_You will see._

His face falls down crest.

Understandable.

_You must prepare them. Even if they don't believe._

And then he's gone.

Back to his world, back to his room. He could imagine all this was a dream. Brought on by too many tacos the night before. But I know him. Even if it wasn't his reality, he'd believe it was. But his friends know that as well. His cries will only rest on faith. And they won't believe. Why would they? Because sometimes when faith seems the most illogical it's when it's needed the most.

…

He'll drift into a deep slumber, his mind unable, unwilling to dream of what will be. But he will remember, etched into his mind, our conversation will gnaw at his subconscious. Though perhaps he will try to ignore it, brush it off, but he'll know it's true. More than the sky is blue or that burritos are delicious, he will know what I said was more than a figment of his imagination.

His alarm will go off that morning, 7:30, just like every school day. Cody will already be gone, his quest to shower Bailey with love and study for any pop quiz that could show up, so he won't be there to help the startled teen when the memories come flowing back.

And they will…

He'll awake, his eyes blurry and his alarm battered by the time 8am comes around. But he'll get up, knowing a new day is starting whether or not he's ready for it. As he gets dressed and shoves down the three donuts he has every day for breakfast, he'll remember.

His eyes will widen as they did when he first heard the news. He'll blink rapidly, wondering if it's true or not. But he'll know. He'll try denying it, but upon looking in that mirror, at his own face, he'll see the truth in his own eyes. The fear buried within, the burden of duty, and the realization that life has he knew it is about to end.

Then he'll dedicate himself to saving his friends even though he'll know how hopeless of a mission he'll have. As he readies for the day, he'll consider all they'll say to him, calling him crazy, brushing it off as too many comics, probably making fun of him too. But he'll need to change that. Though he'll have no idea what to do, only hope that they'll have faith.

…

Class will begin as with every day, Zack and Woody filing in late, hoping the teacher would ignore their tardiness. And by their fortune this day, she will overlook it, far too consumed with a letter a secret admirer left on her desk.

"Told you that would work," Zack will say as he silently makes his way through the aisles.

Any other day, and Woody would instead be smiling. But not this day. No, instead he'll just find his desk, open up a book that he'll pretend to read and rest his head on the desk, too afraid of what must come.

He'll hate himself for not telling Zack, sure if anyone would believe him it would be his best friend. Though fear will restrain him, wondering what would happen should he be rejected. And he'll sit in class that day, ignoring the lessons for what will they matter when the world ends.

But as with every day, class will end.

He'll bolt from class, fear guiding him. He'll want to hide in his room until the hours pass, but he won't even know if he'll survive. What will his insight be worth anyway? Will it have the power to stop what was coming? Will it matter at all?

He'll know he has nothing, not even the knowledge of what will. Only that it was, and in that he'll be alone.

Failure, coward, wimp…these words will race through his mind as he'll pace across his room. He'll wonder if there is still time, and if he'll have any more courage should he get another chance to convince his friends.

_Knowing me, probably not_, he'll think.

But that won't stop him. It can't, and he'll know it.

So he'll swallow his fear, his nervousness, and prepare to rush out the room and warn his friends of the impending doom.

But he'll be stopped as Cody walks into the room.

"What's going on?" Cody will ask before Woody is able to cover up his worry. Even though his worry will be exactly what he needs to get out.

Woody will pace, searching for the exact words he needs. He'll know that he has to convince Cody even though it will be the strangest thing the twin will have ever heard.

"Cody, I'm sure you'll think I'm crazy."

'_I already do,_' the twin will think to himself, but he won't say anything, curiosity will make him wonder what Woody has to say.

"But something really bad is going to happen."

"How so?" He won't be convinced, but will still wonder what's going on.

"Well don't ask me how I know, but we're all going to die tonight."

Cody will look at his friend for a moment, wonder where the punch line is. But he won't find it, instead he'll be met with a desperate stare of seriousness, seriousness he would have never thought was possible from Woody. But Cody won't believe. How could Woody know this, and why this one time? It will be logical for Cody to laugh to himself and walk away.

And that's just what he'll do.

And leave a heart broken Woody behind.

But he'll know that he should have expected that. Woody will get over it though; rejection is a part of life. And at a time like this, he'll know he has to push past it. And as a slight solace, he'll know that soon Cody will know the truth. He'll just hope it won't be too late.

…

Zack…London…even Addison.

Rejection from all of them.

And with only an hour until midnight, he'll know time is of the essence.

"What's wrong?" Bailey will ask, taking a seat beside him on the nearly empty sky deck.

"No one believes me," he'll say, tears ready to break at a moment's notice. He'll know what's coming, and that despite all his pleas, he won't' be able to do anything to stop it. He'll wonder what else he could have said, could have done. Maybe it was his past, blowing things out of proportion, getting into comics too much, watching too much anime. He'll wonder for a second if he imagined that conversation with me.

But then he'll be reminded of his certainty. He'll know the truth he's been trying to shout, trying to convert his friends away from their deaths.

But he'll know it all fell on deaf ears.

"About the world ending?" Bailey will ask, calling out him out of his self-moping.

"You think I'm crazy too, don't you?"

She will pause for a moment, truthfully thinking that, but she'll also see something else. She'll look into his face and lock eyes with not a crazed man, but a desperate one. She'll see fear, panic, despair.

But deeper, she'll see love. She'll see a man who loves his friends. Who is trying to do everything he can to protect them. Who is facing ridicule from those he once trusted. She'll see his pain. And then despite her better intuition, she'll answer him.

"No, I don't."

And then she'll see it. Hope, just a glimmer maybe. She'll wonder if that was the right thing to say, that she should maybe get him help. But despite it all, she'll remember that they are friends and that they had been through far too much to doubt each other now.

Though far from certain of his claims, she'll know that he believes in him, and that will be good enough for her.

Despite her better judgment and her desire for sleep, she'll even encourage him.

"What do we need to do to stop it?"

He'll search through his memories of our conversation. Though the information will fail him. Even after replaying the scene through his head for answers, or clues, or even some information, he'll sigh in defeat. For even when information is needed the most, answers can be the farthest away.

"They're coming at midnight," he'll say, revealing all he knows.

"The start of Halloween," Bailey will add, wondering if it was any coincidence that Woody's prophesy of destruction would fall on that day. "Can we still do something to stop them?"

"We don't have much time." he'll stare down at his watch. "Let's do it," he'll say encouraged for the first time in this long day. Maybe most of his friends wrote off his claims, but with Bailey by his side, he will still have hope. Now no longer alone, he'll have faith. Though sometimes, the brightest of hopes are snuffed out by the darkest of realities.

…

Hope, fear. These are funny things. They make people abandon logic, believe their dreams can come true and their nightmares will become reality. Sometimes even doing all they can to make it so. But really, one person can only do so much. The powers of fate are much stronger, and those who say they have defied it only reign for a time until they see the web of destruction they were really caught in.

And for Woody, despite his determination to do what is right, he is only one. He has Bailey, yes, but she is little more. And his friends, when they see he was right will flock to join him, ready to fight, to join the side of truth.

But sometimes, it's just too late.

…

He'll ready himself, finding the stash of Halloween costumes and search for anything that could be used as an actual weapon. But among the painted plastic, he'll find little that could save a life.

"What about this?" Bailey will ask, uncovering a rare treasure among the drama department's props.

"That might work." Only a wooden sword, but surprisingly sturdy for something probably bought at a thrift store shortly before the ship set sail.

"It won't be enough though."

"Is there any place we can look?"

Woody won't have time to get an answer as the terrible noise of metal grinding into the ship, passengers screams of panic and Woody's hope shattering will fill the air. He'll swallow hard, and then run out of the room, Bailey right on his heels the sword in her hand.

With all doubts banished from her mind, she'll grip the weapon, afraid of what she'll see as they burst up the stairs on the way to the top. Even though there will be walls and floors between them and whatever destruction awaits them, the terror of the passengers will carry through it all. And Bailey will push away the guilt that reminded her of her doubt. She'll know how real this is, and stay close to her friend, afraid that her panic will take hold should they be separated.

Then, bursting out onto the main deck, they'll see the terror that awaits them. Hundreds, if not thousands of the beasts will cover the sky. With fangs like fire, stingers stronger than steel, and wings whipping them through the wind, the two brave teens will see how hopeless things really are. For these are the Xyscons, terrifying creatures from another eternity. The kind mortal man does not know how to overcome.

The passengers will run in terror as these scorpion like beasts dive at them, tearing through the ship and flesh indiscriminatively. And the two will be frozen in place, unable to move as they see lives ended in a matter of seconds as bodies are torn to shreds.

Woody will look through the masses, for any sign of his friends…or what used to be his friends. Part of him will hope they're close enough he could protect them, part of him will hope they're below deck and safe, and a small part, wanting for them to see he was right.

"Woody get over here!" Zack will say from the juice bar as Cody will emerge with boxes of some kind as he tries his best to keep the Xyscons away.

"Where are these things coming from?" Cody will ask as he tries smashing one of them with Zack's prized blender.

"Look out there." Bailey will point to the horizon, unable to differentiate the stars from the monsters because of the sheer number of them.

"Oh man," Zack will say, "This is what you were warning us about isn't it?"

"Yeah, I just didn't know what was coming."

The four of them will look on in terror, hiding behind the juice bar, hoping it would keep them safe, though with each death before their eyes, they'll wonder how much longer they'll be able to hide.

"Is there any way to stop them?" Cody will ask as one of the creatures will fly over them, slamming into the wall.

"I don't know," Woody will say. He'll look on as the creature eyes him and his friends, and it will recover from the disorientation of crashing into the wall. With the most feral of smiles, the Xyscon will jump at Cody, who will freeze in fear. Zack will try batting it away, but he'll do little more than slashing his hand on its deadly tail. He'll reel back powerless as it will fly past him and embeds its tail into Cody's shoulder, causing the younger twin to cry out in pain.

Bailey will try saving her boyfriend with a swipe of the sword, but it will shatter against the claws of the Xyscon. The creature will pull its tail out, slicing through Cody's skin spewing flesh and blood everywhere. It will gaze on in anger at Bailey, hating a mortal who would dare strike it. And it will leap at her, nearly slicing her neck off, killing her if Woody wouldn't pull her to the ground.

Zack will run to his brother who will do all he can to hold the tears back, the pain of having his shoulder ripped open like nothing he had ever experienced. Bones sliced through like nothing, flesh torn apart, he'll wonder if he could even survive such searing pain.

Woody, Zack, and Bailey will know what has to be done. For their friend, they will fight, and get rid of this horrible monster who would so heartlessly kill.

They'll get up as the thing strikes again. This time though they'll be ready. Zack will slam his blender into the thing's side sending it to the wall. Bailey will grab a shard of the broken sword and stab the thing, finding a place of weakness among the armor covering its body. It will leap up in pain, revenge begging to kill Bailey, but Woody will be there to stab it with a knife normally used to cut up the fruit. He'll pin the creature against the counter as it lashes out with its claw and tail, but it won't be able to break free from its restrains.

Seeing that this will appear to be working Bailey will find a knife of her own, and plunge it into the Xyscon's eye. It will lash out more, its mouth emitting a cracking like growl as it will try escaping. But in doing so it will only embed the knifes deeper into its body.

And despite all the noise and struggle, soon it will stop, and die.

"Don't worry buddy, we'll get you taken care of," Zack will say as his brother struggles to maintain consciousness with the blood pouring out of him. Zack will learn down, try to find some towels to keep the blood in, but he'll know how useless his efforts will be. He'll wish he'd be able to do something more to take away the pain, to take it upon himself instead, but he'll only watch as his twin will try to hold back the tears.

"Thanks Zack," he'll say as each breath will become a harder and harder to take. Though he'll keep going, his brother's presence assuring him that things will be okay.

And then he'll see it. Beyond his friends staring down at him, wondering what to do. He'll lift his hands to the sky, to try to warn them before it's too late.

But he'll be too weak.

All the warning they'll have is the beat of the metal like wings of the hundreds of Xyscons descending upon them.

They'll struggle,

But only for a time.

Though with such numbers against them, it will only be a matter of seconds before they are torn apart. Weapons will be useless, running won't be an option, and death shall embrace them.

This isn't a story of heroes overcoming all odds.

No.

This is a story of mortals daring to oppose fate. They may fight for a time, even kill a few of their foes, but their time comes just the same. For not all foes can be banished by the power of love alone. And despite all the hope in the world, without the power of a savior, these mortals are simply destined to die.

…

_**A/N: **__Well, that was fun. Not at all like what I was planning for this collection and not sure how well it turned out, but I like it. I've wanted to try future tense for a while, and really liked the kind of power it has, especially when I could somewhat break the fourth wall here. I apologize if I messed up the grammar some, trying to figure out the exact form of words in certain places was hard. Thanks to __**Wounded Hearts**__ for betaing to try to fix these mistakes._

_The Xyscons are something I had the idea for a while back, but they were unnamed and this is the first time I've had the chance to write for them. Don't be surprised if they show up elsewhere too…_


	9. SilverTurtle

**A GOOD PLAN AND A LITTLE MAGIC**

by SilverTurtle

*****'*****

Jessica carefully packed away her crystals and herbs, rolling them gently in the piece of black velvet that made up the largest part of her mage kit. Once her tools were properly stored in her suitcase she packed her clothing and other essentials. It would be a long flight from England to Kansas, where London Tipton had decided to hold her annual Halloween bash on the Pickett farm, but Jessica was excited for the trip. It had been several years since she'd had the pleasure of the company of her American friends. Her career had taken her all over the globe and further out of contact with almost all of them but London had kept her number citing that it never hurt to have a few more famous friends and that one never knows when having an international super model on speed dial could come in useful.

Though she was eager to meet up with all of her friends again she was most excited to be seeing one in particular: Bailey. The two had hit it off immediately upon meeting. Though Cody thought they'd spent much the time fighting over him, believing himself worth the jealousy and believing them full of such silly pettiness, but they'd actually gotten along famously and discovered a host of shared interests and compatible personality traits. Bailey had quickly become Jessica's dearest friend and the two had spent many hours in conversations with one another. Their friendship had been maintained through the years with letters, emails, phone calls, Skyping, and the very occasional visit (usually Jessica went to Bailey as Bailey's drive to improve the family farm, and in so doing improving farming as a whole, prevented her from traveling much outside of work). As they had grown closer Jessica realized her feelings for the young Kansas native had developed well beyond friendship. If she were being completely honest with herself she'd say she'd fallen a little bit in love with her friend but she wasn't in the habit of being quite that honest. She would admit to an attraction and a deep compatibility but dare not confess to anything more.

Shaking herself from her musings she got back to the task at hand. When her suitcase was packed she lugged it out of her room and downstairs before calling back up a different set of stairs, "Janice! Have you finished packing yet?"

Though the twins were adults and each independently wealthy enough to afford their own homes they'd found themselves much happier when living together so they'd bought a home, nearly a mansion, they could comfortably share without always being under one another's feet but still provide the comfort and security of companionship. The ground floor held all the traditional utility rooms and the rooms for entertaining company while the upper floor had been split down the middle and converted into two large master suites that were entirely separate and could only be accessed via the different staircases. The arrangement granted each young woman the privacy they craved and the company they needed.

"No! Come up," her sister commanded and Jessica obeyed only rolling her eyes a little.

"What is it?" she asked as she breezed into her sister's rooms.

"I don't know what costume to bring!" Janice wailed quietly as she indicated four different bagged costumes laid out on her bed.

Jessica raised her eyebrow and grinned wickedly, "I thought we were going as witches?"

Janice favored her sister with a sardonic look, "I know _you_ think you're being subversive and wildly clever dressing as a witch on Halloween, but I find it just a tad silly given that we actually_are_ witches."

"Hmph," Jessica crossed her arms, "Well, then, what are your other options?"

"Classic Harry Potter style robes complete with wand and house scarf," Janice began while lifting the bagged costume as she spoke of it, "Mary Poppins with bag and umbrella, traditional but extremely dull witch, and this bobby outfit with collapsible nightstick."

"And you complain of me not being clever," Jessica said, "What's so clever about a Brit going as a Hogwarts student, hm?"

Janice stuck her tongue out at her before putting the mentioned costume up in her closet. "Very well, and the others?"

"You're already dead set against dressing as a witch, so that one is out as well," Jessica mused as she put that costume in the closet. "Which leaves going as a bobby or Mary Poppins."

Janice looked between her choices clearly conflicted, "What do you think?"

"I think," Jessica smiled, "That the Americans would be delighted to have a truly British Mary Poppins in their midst."

Janice smiled back, "Yes, I think you're right." She managed to fit the costume in her suitcase and zipped it up.

"You remembered your mage kit, right?" Jessica asked, "Just in case?"

"The very first thing I packed," Janice confirmed, "just like I know it was the first thing you packed."

Jessica inclined her head in confirmation and began walking out the door. "Well, if that's it then, we'd best be on our way."

Janice muscled her suitcase off her bed and followed her sister down the stairs and out their door to meet their waiting cab.

***'***

One overseas flight from London to new York, a secondary flight from New York to Kansas, and a lengthy car ride later and they were making the turn onto the Pickett farm's driveway. Thanks to a call made an hour before the Picketts knew they were coming and Bailey waited on the porch with a smile on her face as they drove up under the mid-morning sunlight.

Jessica took a long moment to study Bailey and liked what she saw. The young woman had developed a trim and subtly muscular figure, doubtless from her work here on the farm, which bore a solid and confident air that Jessica found indescribably attractive. Her skin was tanned from hours under the sun though it lacked the rough weathered look farmers often had. Jessica took in the worn blue jeans, comfortable looking boots, and fitted plaid shirt Bailey wore and mentally approved of how decidedly fit it all made her friend look.

Stepping out of the car they were greeted in Bailey's cheerful voice, her accent a little more prominent due to her time at home, "Long time no see!"

"Too long," Jessica agreed as she stepped up to her friend and wrapped her in a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Mhm," Bailey agreed, giving Jessica a squeeze then releasing her, "It's nice to see you in person instead of on a magazine cover."

Jessica heard Janice laugh behind her and then say, "Did you see the GQ shoot she modeled for?"

Bailey blushed bright red, "I may have seen one or two pages from that."

That made Jessica blush, too. That shoot had been a particularly salacious one. It wasn't that the clothes showed off any more of her body than she was comfortable with but she'd been posed in extremely suggestive ways both alone and with other models. She knew that magazine's reputation and hadn't wanted to do the shoot, but since she'd become a minor television celebrity and two of her co-stars had posed for this same magazine she couldn't talk her manager out of it. It wasn't work she looked on with any particular pride but it wasn't work she'd be ashamed of either.

Janice snickered and that brought Jessica out of her thoughts and she lightly swatted her sister's stomach. "Wicked beast," she teased as Janice merely stuck out her tongue.

"Well, we've got a room ready for you two," Bailey informed them, "That is, if you don't mind sharing for the few days you're here?"

The twins communicated with just a look and shrugged at the same time, "Of course we don't mind."

"Great!" Bailey clapped. She reached out and picked up one of the two suitcases and gestured for them to follow, "I'll get the other bag after I show you to your room. I'm sure you want to sleep off a little of your jet lag."

Both nodded in agreement and trudged after her to their room.

Bailey left them there to get the other bag and when she returned they were already asleep in their respective beds. She set the bag down quietly, closed the door, and left them to rest.

***'***

When Jessica woke it was dark outside. She frowned when she realized she must have slept most of the day and wasted the opportunity to spend more time with Bailey. She looked to the other bed and saw Janice was already out and about. She made use of the en-suite bathroom to freshen up and then made her way downstairs.

"-and London had us design a corn maze in the shape of her face big enough to see from the Tipton Space Station," Jessica heard Bailey telling her sister when she came to the bottom of the stairs and turned towards the living room. "We had to rent out a couple of the neighboring farms to pull it off but we did it. London's face in all its corn stalk glory."

Jessica silently slid up and looked over Bailey's and Janice's shoulders to see the photo Bailey was showing, obviously taken from the same space station Bailey had just mentioned. "Goodness!" she exclaimed, making both other women jump, "how long did that take to design?"

Bailey, hand still pressed over her heart from startlement, answered, "About two weeks to set the design. But it took several months to rent out the other farms and get the right corn planted in the right places. London and I have been planning this since last year."

"It's quite remarkable," Janice said while studying the picture.

"Yes," Jessica agreed with a smile, "It looks just like her. You should be proud."

Bailey smiled back and blushed a little, "Well, it wasn't just me. We had a lot of help from the other farmers. Even old Mr. Weevil helped out."

Jessica, having heard many tales of Mr. Weevil's generally intractable nature, was duly impressed. "So, what else have I missed while I slept?"

Janice shrugged while Bailey said, "You weren't down for that long. It gets dark early here around winter time. It's around six now. People ought to be arriving for the party soon. Momma made some supper for all of us. Why don't we eat and then get into costume."

The twins agreed and they all trooped into the kitchen to eat with Bailey's parents, three younger sisters, and grandmother.

***'***

An hour later knocking started at the door and guests were arriving in droves. Many of their masked faces making it impossible to tell who was in what costumes. It appeared, though, that London had invited every person she'd ever met.

Janice and Jessica were still getting dressed upstairs. Well, Janice was still getting dressed and Jessica was helping her. Apparently the Mary Poppins costume was time period accurate and required a bit of lacing up and buttoning down. Jessica's own mostly shapeless black robe and black hat had simply required finding the correct holes to stuff herself through and she'd been done in moments.

Jessica waited for Janice to finish putting the final touches on her makeup and glanced around the mess Janice had managed to make of the room. She began to tidy, putting Janice's things back in order and in her bag, when her hands met another costume package. "Jan," she asked, "what is this?"

Janice poked her head out of the bathroom and grinned when she saw what her sister held, "That's your other costume."

"What?" Jessica scoffed, "I don't need another costume. The one I'm wearing is just fine."

Janice finished up and stepped fully out of the restroom, "Trust me, Jess, you'll be in that costume before the end of the night."

Jessica looked down at the sailor's outfit in her hands and tossed it onto her bed, "Not likely."

Janice shrugged, "Believe what you will. But I know you'll be in that costume sooner or later."

Jessica eyed her sister suspiciously, "What have you done?"

"What have I done?" Janice parroted back innocently, "Why, nothing. I'm completely innocent."

"You brought along a second costume for me, that doesn't speak well to your innocence." Jessica pointed out.

"Perhaps I just know something you don't," Janice turned her nose up, grabbed her umbrella and carpet bag, and escaped the room before Jessica could question her any further.

Jessica took one last glance at the sailor costume before shaking her head and closing the door behind her as she left.

***'***

They arrived downstairs to a party in full swing spilling out of the house, across the yard, and deeply into the corn fields.

Jessica didn't see Bailey, or anyone else she knew, and so she made her way to the snacks table for some bubbling green punch she'd seen one of Bailey's sisters making after dinner. The drink was pleasantly alcoholic and Jessica felt it warm her with each sip she took. She had drunk down two cups of it as she people watched, delighting in the costumes the guests had come arrayed in.

Her eyes scanned the crowd and finally picked out London dressed seductively as Cleopatra in gold and linens with elaborate jewelry and kohl lined eyes. Jessica vacated the snacks table with a third glass of punch in hand and made her way over to the beaming heiress.

"London!"

London turned her head slowly, regally, and smiled even more widely than she had been before. "Jessica! It's so good to see you!" London squealed a bit and grabbed Jessica in a quick hug, "I'm glad Janice already came to see me, I'd have never been able to tell you apart if you'd approached me at the same time."

They both chuckled over that before Jessica said, "It looks like you've got a successful party on your hands."

London preened, "Of course it's a success. It's a London Tipton party!"

Jessica smiled, "Has Bailey shown you the photo of the corn maze taken by the Tipton Space Station?"

London clapped her hands and bounced a little, reminiscent of the way she'd done as a teen, "She did! It looks just like me!"

"It does," Jessica agreed, "It was a fantastic idea."

London nodded, "And it's good marketing. It cost a lot to set up, but the photos of it in every major paper across the country got the Tipton name out there in a big way and will cover the expense three times over."

Jessica smiled, "Well played, London. That was an excellent bit of advertisement."

London puffed up a little with pride, "Thank you, I thought it was too."

Jessica saw many guests queuing to speak with London and excused herself saying, "I won't keep you from your other guests any longer. Congratulations on this roaring success. Happy Halloween, London."

"Happy Halloween, Jess," London said as she hugged her, "Thanks for coming." Jessica hugged back and then stepped away. She was turning to go when London called her back, "Janice told me about your other costume. You'll want to put it on before I start judging the costume contest. What you're wearing now does you no justice and I'm a sucker for paired costumes."

Before Jessica could inform London that she had no one to pair her costume with the heiress was whisked intoa boisterous conversation with a handful of other celebrities.

Jessica mingled among the party-goers for a while making conversation and new contacts, while keeping an eye out for people she knew. She'd spotted Zack dressed as the Big Bad Wolf to his girlfriend's Red Riding Hood. Cody had come dressed as Einstein, though most thought he was just dressed as a mad scientist. She'd seen Miss Tutweiller, dressed as Jessica Rabbit, on the arm of a woman dressed as a cheerleader and having a conversation with Mr. Moseby, who was dressed as the White Rabbit. Carey Martin was having a blast with Arwin, the two costumed as Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein. Kurt Martin was living it up as the King, Elvis Presley. She'd seen a woman, Addison she thought, dressed as a mime and holding a mostly silent conversation with another woman who'd come as Xena. She'd seen Bailey's parents dressed as the Wizard and Glinda the Good with their three youngest daughters dressed as the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow (they'd dressed their pet pig as Dorothy and had a stuffed dog velcroed to its back to be Toto). There were plenty of green-faced wicked witches, some Robin Hoods, and a whole host of superheroes and comic book characters. There was even a group of people who'd attended dressed as characters from a cartoon show; Rugrats, Jessica thought it was called.

All of that and she still hadn't laid eyes on Bailey. She wondered if Bailey was wearing a mask over her face and that's why she couldn't see her. She could hardly believe that she'd forgotten to ask what Bailey intended to dress as for this party.

***'***

She looked up from her sixth glass of punch in time to watch Janice leap from the top of a stack of hay bales with her umbrella open above her and float gently to the ground to the amusement of crowd of onlookers. Jessica knew, instantly, that Janice had enchanted her umbrella. And when she saw Janice begin pulling things from her carpet bag she knew that had been enchanted too. Shaking her head in wry amusement at her sister's antics she laughed and hoped Janice could convince her adoring fans that it was all some great trick of the light.

***'***

Later she wandered into the corn maze with a map in hand, amused that she'd be walking all over London's face. In her slightly drunken haze, eight mugs of punch beginning to take their toll, she had forgotten to bring a flashlight into the maze with her and as a consequence gotten herself well and truly lost. She sighed at herself in annoyance and tugged her crystal necklace from beneath her robe. She whispered a soft command into the stone and it glowed brightly enough that she could use it to light her way. Her map was now quite useless and she tucked it into her pocket as she continued to wander. She popped out from between a row of corn stalks and found herself at what must have been the edge of the property given the barbed wire fence she was suddenly pressed against. She turned to re-enter the corn maze and heard a horrendous ripping sound. She looked down at herself and found her robe neatly torn in two, half snagged on the barbed wire and half dangling limply off her shoulders.

"Bugger this," she growled and yanked the robe off the fence. She wadded the whole lot into a ball and tucked it under her arm then threw herself back into the maze. Irritation and a beginning sense of panic working to sober her up. She held her crystal before her to light her way but she was still lost. She pulled the map out of her pocket and laid it flat on the ground. She crouched over it and dangled the crystal above it to scry for her location. Once she'd found herself on the map she was able to use it to guide her way out. She made sure to call the light out of her crystal before she emerged from the maze with her ruined robe in hand.

Janice caught sight of her as soon as she stepped out of the maze and laughed. "Had a bit of an ordeal in there, did you?" she asked as she pulled the split fabric out of her sister's hands and stuffed it into her enchanted carpet bag. She led Jessica behind a stack of hay bales for privacy and said a spell which called the sailor costume from their room and made it materialize in her hands, "Well, go on and put this on then. Can't have you wandering about without a costume."

Jessica once more eyed her sister with suspicion, "I'm not convinced of your innocence in all of this."

"Nonsense," Janice said agreeably, "I couldn't have possibly done a thing to make any of this happen. So what if I brought an extra costume? Or the punch was particularly irresistible to you? Or you somehow 'forgot' to take a torch into the maze and got lost? It wasn't all part of some grand scheme of mine. No, indeed."

Jessica laughed, "You are wicked, Jan. Did you use a befuddlement charm on me? How'd you manage to put it on without my noticing?"

Janice smiled while she helped her sister into her new costume, "You, sister dear, sleep like the dead." She stuffed all of Jessica's regular clothes into her carpet bag and surveyed her sister with a pleased air about her.

Now arrayed in her new blue sailor's costume, tailored beautifully to her size courtesy of her sister's planning, she had to admit it was a wonderful choice in costume. The outfit was a classic United States naval uniform of a 1940s style complete with white cap and black shoes. It hung off her in a way that made her gender indeterminate, only her long hair and painted nails gave her away. "Well, while I'm not pleased about you using magic on me I do have to say this was a rather splendid choice in costume on your part."

Janice smiled, "It wasn't entirely my idea."

Jessica furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

Janice was saved from answering by London's voice projecting over speakers placed strategically all over the farm, "Okay, boys and ghouls, it's time for the costume contest! Contestants will come up on the stage when I call your names and let everybody see your costumes!"

"Oh! Come on!" Janice grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her back out into the crowd and towards the stage.

London started calling people's names, some individuals, some pairs, some groups, all eliciting pleased cheering from the crowd. London would occasionally make a note on her cards while looking everyone over with a critical eye. The more famous guests getting snapshots taken by the press all of London's events attracted.

Suddenly Jessica's name was called and she looked to her sister in shock, "I didn't enter this contest!"

"Nope," Janice grinned, Jessica's exclamation had covered the announcement of her partner's name, "I entered it for you. Now get up there!" She slapped her sister's back and shoved her towards the stage.

Jessica felt a tingle in her spine when Janice slapped her, but dismissed it as she dazedly climbed the steps to the stage and met a smiling London, who whispered "much better" to her, and a nervous Bailey. Jessica felt her jaw drop as she finally saw Bailey in her costume, one well matched to her own. Bailey was dressed all in white as a nurse from the same era Jessica's own uniform had come from with her hair curled and coiffed under her own white cap in a style appropriate for the costume. Bailey smiled hesitantly as Jessica approached and took a single step closer and somehow tripped (Jessica suspected Janice's hand at work). Acting quickly Jessica moved to catch her and overbalanced but she caught herself and Bailey coming to a stop in a pose almost an exact duplicate of one of the most iconic images of World War II, one known by many titles but most frequently as _The Kiss_. The action was seamless and looked as though they'd planned it all along even though it was a total accident (unless Jessica's suspicions about Janice's witchery prove true).

Looking down into Bailey's eyes as they held onto each other for balance Jessica once more felt that tingle in her spine and couldn't resist the temptation. She sealed her mouth to Bailey's, kissing for all she was worth, and completed the image to the deafening cheers of the crowd and punctuated by the flashbulbs of the photographers.

She didn't want to stop but London's amused commentary and the sudden awareness that in front of a crowd of hundreds of people was not the way she'd wanted to have her first kiss with Bailey eventually prevailed over her sensory overload and she pulled away with one last nip at Bailey's lips. Flushed and breathless the two young women left the stage hand-in-hand to the hooting and applause of the crowd.

They passed Janice on the way down, her twin making her way up the stairs to showcase her own costume, and Jessica heard her laughingly say "You're welcome" in a sing-song voice. Jessica simultaneously felt the urge to slap and hug her sister but settled for rolling her eyes and finding she and Bailey some privacy.

"So," Bailey chewed on her lip, "that was...something, huh?"

Jessica chuckled self-deprecatingly, "It certainly was that. Bailey," Jessica turned serious and apologetic eyes on the other woman, "I'm sorry about that. I had no idea-"

Bailey interrupted, "Janice didn't tell you?"

Jessica tilted her head, "Tell me what?"

Bailey covered her mouth with her hand and groaned. She dropped her hand, "I thought you knew!"

"Knew what?" Janice asked, baffled.

Bailey rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. She reached out and caught Jessica's hands in her own, "Janice and I planned all this. She said she'd tell you."

Jessica shook her head, "She didn't tell me a thing. Rarely does, the wicked thing. So this was all a plot?" she asked. "The party?"

Bailey nodded.

"The costumes?"

Another nod.

"The contest?"

Again, Bailey nodded.

Then, hesitantly, "The kiss?"

Bailey licked her lips, looked directly into Jessica's eyes, and deliberately shook her head. "I'd hoped," Bailey whispered, "I've wanted to for a long time, but I wasn't sure if you-"

"I've wanted to," Jessica confessed, cutting Bailey off, "I think I've always wanted to."

Bailey bit her lip again and smiled bashfully, "So..."

"So?" Jessica queried.

"So, maybe we could try that again?" Bailey offered, "Without the audience?"

Jessica grinned, "Smashing idea."

Without further ado the two came together in a much less public but no less passionate embrace. Years of suppressed desire pouring between them and making their hearts race. This was much more in keeping with what Jessica had wished their first kiss would be.

Oblivious to the world around them, lost in one another, they missed the rest of the contest and Janice taking the prize for her costume with Woody as her chimney sweep.

***'***

When they finally managed to separate the party was winding down.

Jessica pulled them back out into the real world so Bailey could say farewell to her guests, which didn't take as long as she thought it might. The sun was just peeking over the horizon by the time they managed to drag themselves into the house for some rest.

Before they parted company to rest in their respective rooms Bailey took Jessica by the hand again and placed a chaste kiss to her lips, whispering "Happy Halloween" against them and disappearing into her room.

Jessica practically floated into the room she and Janice shared and flopped happily onto her back on her bed.

"Good night, Jess?" Janice teasingly asked, looking at her sister's completely enamored expression.

"The best," Jessica breathed out. "Thanks, Jan, for all of this."

Janice smiled, her plan had come together beautifully with the help of just a smidgeon of magic and had worked even better than she'd supposed. Satisfied, instead of smugly giving her sister an I-told-you-so, she contented herself with saying, "Happy Halloween, Jess."

"Happy Halloween." Jessica replied, nearly drifting off.

Janice was almost asleep herself when Jessica's voice floated over to her, "And no more casting magic on me. Nearly made a drunken mess of myself."

Janice snorted, "I won't have to magic you now you and Bailey are finally on the same page. Now I won't have to listen to you pine for one another."

Jessica laughed, "No, now you get to listen to us moon over one another instead."

Janice groaned for her sister's benefit but she was smiling as she fell asleep.

**THE END**

*****'*****

_**A/N: **__**The Kiss**__ is a real image taken by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. It can be found under the titles __**V-J Day in Times Square**__, __**V-Day**__, and __**The Kiss**__. Google image search and wikipedia will find it for those of you interested in seeing._


	10. Snapplelinz II

**The Guided Tour**

by Snapplelinz

_This oneshot was inspired by the building in which I work :P Happy Halloween!_

* * *

"Seriously, why are we here?" Zack asked warily of the room at large.

Technically, it wasn't a room at all; it was a long and sweeping corridor that looked as though it would never end. Save for the group walking together in an uncomfortable huddle and the strange man leading the way forward, the space was sparse and devoid of any other human presence.

Unless you counted the stern-looking curator of the building who watched you with her beady brown eyes everywhere you went.

And then there was the ultra-creepy security guard who opened and closed the main entrance like he was leading you to a prison cell.

Why had they agreed to take a tour of a medical museum which used to be an old hospital?

"I told you already – my Uncle got tickets to this exhibit and said I could invite whomever I wanted along. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Woody answered in his familiar whiny voice.

"Speak for yourself, Woody. Watching Arturo Vertalli unveil his latest spring collection is a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is just…weird." London countered in a disdainfully haughty tone.

"Come on, guys. It's not so bad," Bailey tried, the plastered smile beginning to hurt her cheek bones while she gazed bewilderedly at their surroundings.

"I just don't understand why we couldn't do this tour during the day…" Cody trailed off, grimacing at an ominous-looking scalpel in a glass case beside him.

"This tour only happens once a year and the curators prefer to do it at night so that people can't steal the exhibits." Woody explained.

"I can see why. That gold chamber pot looks expensive!" Marcus noted with speculative interest.

"Besides, it's Halloween! That makes the tour all the more exciting!" Woody beamed.

"Yeah, 'exciting' was the word I was thinking of when you first mentioned a tour of an old creepy hospital on one of the scariest nights of the year." Maya retorted hoarsely, staying very close to Zack all the while as they walked along.

"As I was saying before we were interrupted…" the tour guide named Louis announced in an irritable voice. "This used to be the old children's ward of the former hospital."

"They actually kept kids down here?" Cody asked in alarm.

The rest of the group's expressions matched what Cody had said aloud. Many of the old hospital rooms were encased in units made of glass.

One of the rooms contained an old-fashioned hospital bed, a wooden and mouldy bookshelf running along the wall, small reading table with discoloured plastic toys scattered around its legs. A lone teddy bear sat upright on a wooden stool in the corner, its button eyes black and lifeless.

It was a world literally frozen in time.

"What's with the metal bars around the bed?" Zack questioned suspiciously.

"It looks like a cage." Maya agreed, feeling the hairs on her arms rise a little at the thought.

"Hey, they're not so bad. I used to have a crib just like that when I was a kid." Woody replied defensively.

"Did the bars have lead paint on them, Woody?" Bailey demanded snidely.

"That explains a lot." Marcus remarked with a snort.

"I thought this used to be a military hospital used primarily for Confederate soldiers recuperating during the Civil War." Cody noted pensively while staring at a framed photo hanging on a nearby wall.

"Oiu, c'est vrai. A great many soldiers came to New Orleans when the war broke out in full flux between the Union and Confederate armies. The devastation left les enfantes without homes and families, so many were re-located to live in the hospital until the end of the war. But being inside these walls for so many years…it made les enfants extremely…terrible." Louis concluded, being sure to draw out the 'r' in 'terrible' with a rasping quality which made the hairs on Bailey's arms stand on end.

"Oh come on! Are you implying that the kids in this hospital went crazy?" Marcus demanded while rotating a lone finger around his temple.

"I think he's more than implying, Marcus…" Woody whimpered, shuddering at the teddy bear staring back at him through the glass window with hollow glassy eyes.

"Sounds like a pile of baloney to me." Zack openly scoffed.

"I see some of you doubt the truth of my words. But it is no mocking matter, especially in light of…mort." Louis intoned cryptically.

"Mort? What the heck is that? Some character out of 'Penguins of Madagascar'?" London questioned loudly with a frown on her face.

"It's a French word for 'death'." Maya answered with a look of dismay.

"The kids actually died?" Bailey asked in alarm.

"Oui, most of them. It was a very difficult time during the war and the hospital staff were overwhelmed with ze casualties. Many were just volunteers trying to save countless lives with no previous medical training. They were forced to bury many of ze bodies under this property; some were experimented on in ze morgue." Louis explained in a grave whisper.

"Experiments?"

"_Morgue?_"

"Some say that ze spirits of les enfants still roam through ze rooms of zis hallway. Many are lost and confused. So they climb back into their beds and wait…"

"What are they waiting for?" Zack asked in a would-be casual voice, even though his heart had begun thumping rapidly beneath his T-shirt.

In answer to that question, the group heard what sounded like a muffled thump in close proximity.

"What the heck was that?" Cody demanded through barely concealed nervousness.

"Do not be alarmed. Zer are many sounds which echo through ze hallways at night. Eet iz a very old building." Louis offered in an attempt at bravado, an amiable smile plastered on his face.

The sound was quickly followed by the sound of creaking, unfettered against the sound of the discoloured tiles on which they walked.

"Guys…"

"Maybe we should continue with the tour. Let's keep moving…please!" Maya exclaimed in an excitable tone, her grip on Zack's arm becoming painful.

A queasy feeling began to erupt in her stomach. The building was beginning to converge on her, as if there were a million eyes fixated on her at that very moment. The atmosphere was becoming extremely stifling and tense.

"What did you mean when you said they were waiting?" London demanded heatedly, feeling strangely annoyed for no apparent.

It was this building, its entire aura making her panicky, putting her instantly on edge.

"Guys…"

"Maya, it's ok." Bailey chided in a murmur, ignoring Woody's murmuring for the moment.

But she herself began to feel exactly how Maya felt, goosebumps pricking her skin with sudden intensity.

"Guys!"

"What, Woody?" Zack snapped angrily, finally losing his temper.

Before Woody could answer, another thump sounded in their ears, only much closer and far more piercing than its predecessor. Maya turned to her left and began screaming sharply, staring in horror at what had caught Woody's attention in the first place.

The glass window framing the children's nursery.

A man shrouded in black stood with his face pressed up against it.

"He climbed out of the bed…" Woody whimpered with a painstaking shudder coursing through his body.

"What?" Cody exclaimed.

"Do not be alarmed. It is only Bosco, ze security guard. He was playing…une amusement." Louis explained with a dry chuckle.

"He did that on purpose? He scared the heck out of us!" Bailey retorted furiously.

"Nobody sneaks up on London Tipton and lives to tell the tale! Daddy's going to hear about this!" London echoed, hands on hips while scowling pointedly at their tour guide.

In spite of everyone's protests, both Woody and Zack were still staring at the window. As far as they could tell, Bosco was still watching them and hadn't moved a muscle since his unexpected appearance.

But something was wrong.

First there was his appearance. When they had first entered the building, he had been dressed in an unassuming guard uniform, the fabric of which was an obsequious brown.

Now he was dressed from head to toe in black, complete with a black hoodie which covered his head, leaving only his face exposed. He was smiling grotesquely back at them, a thin pane of glass standing between them, distorting his features even more.

"Why's he just standing there?" Zack questioned pensively.

"Bosco, you've had your fun. Now go back to ze main entrance." Louis implored, laughter still playing on his lips.

"Guys, I think we should get out of here…" Maya trailed off in a high-pitched voice, tugging on Zack's arm.

It happened all too quickly when Bosco suddenly whipped out an axe from behind his back and began hacking at the glass.

"Bosco, what are you doing?" Louis barked impatiently, losing his cool completely.

"He's trying to get at us! He's gonna kill us!" Woody shrieked, backing away rapidly.

"Get away from the window!" Cody shouted at the same time.

He grabbed hold of Woody just as the first shards fell from the pane, showering the tiles with pieces of shiny glass. Marcus did the same by pulling both Bailey and Maya out of harm's way as Bosco aimed another mighty blow at the fragile glass frame.

"Bosco, stop zis maintenant!"

He was climbing through the jagged hole he'd just made, the blade of the axe tipped with burnished menace. The group backed away from him in terror while Louis stood his ground, an ugly look on his thin face.

"You are going off script again!"

"Maybe I want to change the rules, Louis."

"I make ze rules, you idiot! You were just supposed to scare the les enfants, not break ze glass! That's coming straight out of your salary for the month." Louis fumed irately, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth.

"I don't think so. I've decided to run our little business on my own." Bosco announced cryptically.

"What's he talking about?" Maya questioned of Louis, whose eyes were trained on the security guard.

Just then, the sound of squeaking sounded through the hallway. The group turned around suddenly and stared in bewilderment at a gurney that had just materialised out of nowhere in the empty corridor.

"What is that?" London asked in a low voice, her breath quickening with hysteria.

"What's going on here?" Marcus demanded excitably, staring between the two men.

"Have you lost your mind, Bosco? What is ze corpse doing out here?"

"Corpse?" Bailey asked in a fearful tone, willing herself not to look.

But it was too late, because all their eyes were trained on the gurney as they moved closer in a huddle.

"It's a kid," Zack breathed in alarm.

Sure enough, there was a child lying on top of the hospital gurney, who looked to be about 8 years old. His skin was papery white, his lips tinged with a mesh of blue and purple. The peaceful expression on his face belied the collective revulsion felt by the rest of the group when they looked at his small body.

It had clearly been opened up and crudely sewn back together with thick black threads all along the abdomen, stretching right up towards the tiny neck.

"What did you do to him?" Bailey yelled angrily, her eyes swimming with tears at the sight of the young boy.

"He was already dying." Bosco spat indifferently.

"And we were going to sell his vital organs on the black market! Are you going back on our original agreement, Bosco?" Louis demanded with cold fury etched in his tone.

"I am so glad that you finally comprende, Louis. I have made an arrangement with a new buyer and will no longer be requiring your services. Au revoir, mon ami."

The girls screamed when Bosco, who was several heads taller than Louis, lifted the tour guide off of his feet and slammed him hard against the wall, one hand wrapped around the latter's throat. While Louis struggled and gasped for breath, Bosco retrieved some sort of drill from a back pocket and pressed a button.

A whirring sound echoed through the hall and the group of teenagers (all huddled against the wall) watched in terror as Bosco lifted the drill (of which the pointed edge was now spinning on high speed) and held in front of Louis' eyes, watching its every move with frantically muted horror.

"Hey, man – what are you doing?" Marcus dared to ask, even though his entire body was shaking with fear.

"Bosco, please…"

"It will be quick. You will not feel a thing, Louis." Bosco cooed with the soothing air of a father calming his child after a nightmare.

But his eyes, raging with madness, belied his amicable intentions. And this became even more apparent when he brought the drill downwards again and plunged it straight into Louis' stomach. The sharp edges disappeared into the tour guide's skin, causing him to gasp in protest when Bosco twisted his wrist a little more each time to accelerate the intensity of the pain.

Louis' breath came out in rasping spurts of pain and disbelief, his entire mouth filling with blood, which dripped out onto his chin and splattered onto the floor beneath him. Bosco used his other hand (still gripping Louis by the throat) to snap his neck with a casual flick of his wrist, pulling the drill out of his abdomen with reckless rapidity at the same time, emitting a bone-crunching sound.

London emitted a shrill scream when the tour guide's body fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. He now laid spreadeagled on the cold hard tiles, thick red blood pouring from the gaping hole in his stomach forming a perfect circle around his lifeless body. His eyes were now hollowed out and still, his mouth still agape in muffled dismay.

"What did you just do?" Zack demanded vehemently, gazing to and fro between the dead tour guide and the crazed security guard, who was still holding the murder weapon in his large hand like a maroon trophy.

They all backed away from Bosco as he began advancing on them menacingly.

"Hey, t-t-take it easy. You already killed one person, this doesn't have to get ugly…" Woody chided in a whimper, hiding conveniently behind Bailey while he spoke.

"You're all witnesses to what I just did. The only way you're leaving this building is on a gurney just like him." Bosco answered with cool elation evident in his tone with a casual toss of his head in the lifeless child's direction.

"There's six of us and one of you. I think you can do the Math, Bosco. You can't kill all of us." Bailey declared, her whole body shaking with a mixture of rage and apprehension while Cody attempted to shield her.

"All I need is one." The murderer answered with deathly simplicity.

"It's not going to be one of these kids." A new voice interrupted.

The group and Bosco turned around sharply and were faced with the mean-faced curator, pointing a shotgun in their direction, an ugly look on her face.

"Damn, didn't see that coming." Marcus remarked without thinking, momentarily distracted.

"Ah, Mona. I should've guessed. How long have you known?" Bosco questioned, as if he were talking about the weather.

"Long enough. Did you and Louis really think you could get away with using my museum as a platform for your illegal dealings?" Mona demanded furiously, the gun trained on Bosco's massive frame.

"You know, we really don't have to be around for this. I have a cocktail party to get to…" London piped up with a nervous chuckle which reverberated through the desolate hallway.

"Louis' luck had to run out eventually. I on the other hand, always have a back-up plan."

"Not this time."

Maya gasped loudly when the shorter woman aimed off a powerful shot, which rocketed right into Bosco's chest.

Any other person would've been floored immediately by the gunshot, most likely with a hole protruding out of their back where the bullet had made its exit wound.

Not Bosco.

He staggered slightly, but remained upright, the bullet seeming to have made no impact whatsoever. Cody stared in horror when Bosco pulled his black hoodie upwards to reveal a vest underneath.

"I told you had a back-up," he muttered, advancing menacingly on Mona, who backed away rapidly from him.

"Zack, no!" Maya cried out when her boyfriend tried to intervene.

Zack made a grab for the beefy security guard. But Bosco simply shrugged him off, like he weighed no more than a woman. Zack ended up hitting the adjacent wall and Mona prepared to fire again.

Her aim got Bosco in the arm this time, the bullet ripping part of the fabric from his sweater, blood spewing from the gaping hole. But still he kept coming till Mona fell backwards onto the floor.

"Don't hurt her!" Bailey cried.

With one swift movement, Bosco managed to wrench the rifle from Mona's hand and aim it right at her nose.

"Bosco, please…"

"You shot me in the arm, Mona. That wasn't very nice at all." Bosco stated reprovingly.

"I think you need a makeover."

The girls' cries of protests were lost in the stagnant air when the gun fired off a single shot and blew off most of Mona's face. The group cowered backwards in fear when Bosco turned on them, the barrel of the gun matching the rest of his dark clothing.

"Wait a minute, man…" Marcus protested feebly with his hands held up in surrender.

"It doesn't have to end quite so quickly for the rest of you. I'll even give you a head-start." Bosco compromised.

"Run."

None of them needed a second invitation, particularly when London pushed Zack (who had gotten to his feet) out of the way and ran ahead of everyone else, even in her ridiculously high Arturo Vertalli boots.

Bosco grinned widely at the retreating figures as he began walking slowly and deliberately after them.

The fun was only just beginning.

* * *

In all the confusion of trying to find the exit in the maze-like corridors of the building, Woody managed to get himself separated from the rest of the group. Dark patches of moisture had formed underneath the armpits on the green T-shirt he wore, which was a good two sizes too small; his bushy hair was tangled and wiry from the adrenaline, sweat running precariously down his cheeks.

Somehow, he ended up sprinting down the exact same hallway where the mini-massacre had begun with the strange nursery shrouded in glass.

"Gotta find a phone – get help…" Woody muttered repeatedly to himself.

He perked up when he spotted a red phone attached to the wall straight ahead, placed there especially for emergencies. He practically dove on the device and began dialling the first number that came to mind.

"911 – this is an emergency! M-m-my friends and I are at this creepy museum being chased by a crazy p-p-p-psychopath who killed t-two people right in front of us! You have to get down here and -"

The line suddenly went dead, causing Woody's eyes to practically pop out of their sockets in consternation.

"H-hello? Hello!"

That's when he sensed an all-too-familiar presence right behind him.

Woody whipped around and gaped in awe at Bosco standing there, holding a limp cord in his fingers. Woody stared at the phone and gulped, realising why the line had gone dead at the critical moment.

"Phoning a friend isn't really going to help you out of this situation, Woody Fink." Bosco noted in a placid tone.

"P-p-please, M-m-m-Mr. Bosco, Sir. I really don't wanna die, least of all on the scariest day of the year!" Woody blubbered, on the verge of tears.

Bosco relaxed the arm still holding the rifle that he'd used to shoot Mona in the face with and began laughing heartily, causing Woody to frown in confusion.

"You should see your face! I really scared you, didn't I?" Bosco asked with a shuddering breath while clutching his stomach.

"Well, yeah!" Woody fumed.

"Woody, that was part of the plan."

"Yeah, but you said you were gonna jump out and scare my friends! Not hide out in a creepy room, break the glass with an axe you just happened to have and murder two people for good measure! That definitely wasn't part of the plan!" Woody retorted irately.

"Ok, so I went a little off script, but I did scare your friends, which was part of our deal." Bosco interjected in a placating manner.

"Which clearly explains what you did to Louis and Mona!"

"You don't really think I killed them, do you?"

"I don't think – you did it right in front of me!"

Bosco rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "The two of you had better come out now," he instructed wearily.

Woody squealed in surprise when both Louis and Mona emerged from around the corner, wiping blood from their faces and from the gaping hole in the abdomen in Louis' case.

"Did you really have to spray all that fake blood all over my face, Louis? It's so sticky – it's going to take me forever to get it all off." Mona complained while dabbing at her face.

"Mona, the point is that you have to look like your entire face has been blown off!"

"Wait, you didn't blow her face off? But the sound of the gun-"

"Was just an audio clip. We had to make it look realistic." Louis supplied with an irritating air of authority.

"I told you it might be too scary for him." Bosco said to Louis when Woody still looked like he was going to hurl.

"It wasn't so bad. Besides, why do you get to have all ze fun every year, Bosco?" Louis complained lightly.

"I don't know how I let the two of you talk me into this. I'm an old woman…"

"Come now, Mona. For all your talk of being an old woman, you enjoy a good scare as much as ze next person, especially when it involves your grandfather's old gun that he used in ze Civil War." Louis chided with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

The scowl on the elderly woman's face evaporated and was replaced with a similar gleam of mischief when she looked at the young tour guide.

"Of course you're right, Louis. It was quite fun." She conceded wistfully.

"And the drill going through your chest?" Woody asked curiously of Louis.

Louis lifted his bloodied shirt and revealed a vest similar to what Bosco wore underneath his own sweater.

"I chewed on a blood capsule beforehand which ran out of my mouth at ze opportune time. There are packets of fake blood attached to zis vest which ruptured when Bosco stabbed me. Next time, not so hard, I can feel a bruise forming." He added in a reproving aside to Bosco while wincing and rubbing his stomach.

"Bosco shot fake blood at me with a mixture of…" Mona paused in her narrative to dab at the mess on her cheek and lick the residue off of her index finger, "what tastes like…blackcurrant pudding at my face with a special cartridge in my grandfather's old gun to make it look like blood and membrane."

"He really used it in the Civil War? So the stories about this place are true?" Woody questioned of the three adults.

"Just the parts about the casualties being bad and this hospital being swarmed with countless victims." Bosco answered soberly, his expression matching that of his partners in crime.

"And the kids being experimented on along with selling their organs on the black market?"

"Fiction." Mona replied simply with a side-long glance at Bosco.

"What about the kid on the gurney?"

"My eldest son. By the way, nice work with pushing the gurney out into the hallway, Mona. Francisco, why don't you come introduce yourself?" Bosco called out in a booming voice.

The boy who had lain dead on the gurney a short while ago, came bounding down the hallway. He jumped in the air and Bosco caught him deftly in his arms.

"How did I do?" the boy asked of his father, who grinned down at him.

"Marvellously, mon ami. How did you ever get ze stitchez to look so real" Louis asked in a professional manner of Bosco.

"I know a guy."

"Can I play the dead kid again next year?" Young Francisco asked in a hopeful voice.

"I'm afraid not, my son. You are getting a little too old; Benito will have to do it next year." Bosco responded sadly, referring to his youngest son. "But do not worry. You'll get to do something extra special to scare the tourists next year." He promised, delighted when his son perked up once again.

"I still can't believe you guys run this tour every year. How have you been able to fake a really boring tour that turns into…something scary?" Woody asked gleefully.

"People like you, Woody, who are able to sucker their friends and family into coming onto a tour of this museum. Spreading the word about it to the next unsuspecting victim is your job." Bosco explained.

"When my uncle told me about how you scared him and his work colleagues 3 months ago and I heard the S.S. Tipton would be docking here for a few days, I figured I should give this a shot. Especially after Zack and London played that prank on me with the midget and the camembert cheese." Woody quipped with annoyance.

"Was London the really snooty girl with the $500 extensions?" Mona questioned drolly.

"Yip, that's London. And I think her extensions are valued at about $750 a strand." Woody remarked.

"Now that you've gotten what you wanted out of the bargain, who are you going to tell about our little tour?" Louis asked.

"My sister. She's coming down here with my parents in a few weeks. There are a couple of cheerleaders at her school giving her a hard time. I think they could really _benefit_ from a tour like this." Woody answered evilly, causing the three adults and the young child to laugh heartily in response.

"It's getting late, you'd better head back to the ship before your friends call the police." Bosco advised.

"Oh, right! The adrenaline rush made me forget that it's past midnight now." Woody agreed after clapping a hand to his forehead in shock.

"Do you think your friends will forgive you when you tell them what really happened tonight?" Mona asked tentatively.

"Maybe not right away, but eventually. They're cool that way." Woody replied with a shrug. "Thanks for the tour, guys. It was a blast." He called out as he turned to leave.

"Nice kid." Bosco remarked after Woody had left the building.

"Now that the tour is complete, who is going to clean up this mess?" Mona demanded sceptically of the glass and fake blood strewn across the floor.

Bosco and Louis glanced dubiously at each other before looking hopefully in Mona's direction. Mona clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"I don't think so, you two figure it out amongst yourselves. I've got to clean out my grandfather's gun. It's business as usual tomorrow morning with the regular tour. See you then."

Mona chuckled appreciatively to herself as Bosco and Louis begrudgingly grabbed some cleaning utensils from a nearby closet and got to work.

Woody walked out into the night air, shivering slightly while rubbing at the goosebumps forming on his arms. In spite of the confidence he'd displayed in front of the adults, he still wasn't looking forward to confronting his friends.

"They are so gonna kill me." He murmured to no one in particular as he made his way back to the ship.

* * *

_A/N: __A bit of a strange oneshot, but I hope you liked it ;) As previously stated, this story was inspired by the building where I work. It used to be an old hospital, but as far as I know, no freak-show museum tours happen there at night. Just lectures for medical students during the day :P Props to all the amazing oneshots we've had so far – keep 'em coming! _


	11. James Doyle

**Beyond the Veil**

by James Doyle

* * *

A beautiful, but particularly maudlin arrangement of Psalm 23 played repeatedly through Zack Martin's head as he endured what seemed like an endless train ride back to Boston. That arrangement had played at St. Bartholomew Parish in Manhattan, where he had been the previous day, together with his brother Cody, to pay their last respects to Zack's dear, departed ex-girlfriend Maya Bennett.

It wasn't enough for Zack. He still had much left to say to Maya, and some things could only be said to her face. That hadn't been possible in any sense of the phrase, as US Customs regulations had required her remains to be cremated prior to being shipped stateside. This caused him to look back upon the graveside portion of the ceremony, wherein all that remained of his beloved had been locked away in a vault for all eternity.

Zack shuddered at the thought. For the first time in his life, Zack began to contemplate whether there was, in fact, a higher power, or existence after death. He decided there had to be. His precious Maya deserved far better than to spend eternity as a pile of dust locked away in a crematorium. She deserved to be happy; the happiness that, hard as tried, he could never seem to give her.

Over the next few days, that train of thought recurred to Zack, over and over, as he tried in vain to concentrate on his classes at Bunker Hill Community College. He knew that wherever Maya had gone, he needed to be there, as well. But it wasn't enough for him to believe that she was there. He had to know.

Zack skipped past the apartment he shared with his brother and their friend Woody, and made best possible speed to his old home, the Tipton Hotel. He rendered a cursory greeting to the manager, his old friend Esteban Ramirez, before heading for the basement. There, as he expected, he found his old friend Arwin Hawkhauser.

"Hey, Zack," Arwin greeted enthusiastically. "Great to see you!"

"Yeah, you too," replied Zack.

Arwin sighed. "Still sad about Maya?"

Zack nodded. "Actually, that's why I'm here."

"Well, I'm not sure what I can do," said Arwin, "But for whatever I'm worth, I'm here if you need to talk."

"Actually, I think you can do a lot more for me than just that," replied Zack.

"What did you have in mind?" asked Arwin.

"Cody told me about a project you were working on," elaborated Zack. "A cryogenic stasis unit."

"Yes," acknowledged Arwin. "Dr. Chip and I have been working on it. We think it's ready. All we need is a test subject."

"Well, then," volunteered Zack. "I'm you're man."

Arwin froze solid for a good two minutes. As soon as the shock wore off, he rendered his response.

"No," refused Arwin. "Not possible."

"Hear me out," argued Zack. "I've been reading some metaphysical theories on cryogenic suspension."

Arwin raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," admitted Zack. "I had a little help from Cody! Anyway, one of the more controversial theories is that a person in suspended animation is technically dead."

"Exactly my point," countered Arwin. "That's why I'm not going to try it on a human test subject until I'm sure it works."

"Arwin..." pleaded Zack.

"Forget it!" refused Arwin. "I'm not gonna help you kill yourself."

Zack sighed. "I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend," responded Arwin. "And as your friend, I'm advising you to figure out how to live with your grief. Think about it, Zack: Would Maya really want you to throw your life away for her?"

Zack shook his head as he walked out. "Well, I guess we'll never know, will we?"

Zack tried with all his strength to put the notion out of his mind. Perhaps Arwin was right: Perhaps he needed to let go of Maya, lest he dishonor her memory by traveling any further along this path of self-destruction. And yet, the idea just wouldn't go away. The more he tried to put it out of his mind, the more the desire to know for sure what had become of Maya consumed him.

Zack ultimately gave in, and began to formulate a plan. As luck would have it, the perfect opportunity presented itself upon, of all nights, Halloween night. London would be throwing her annual Halloween bash, and anyone and everyone, including Arwin, would be vying for the coveted first prize in London's costume contest.

Under the pretense of not feeling much like partying, Zack stayed behind as Cody and Woody made their way to the party. Once the party was in full swing, Zack made a discreet entrance to the basement using a route mapped out in his head from his days of wreaking havoc together with his brother Cody.

Once he'd gotten a handle on Arwin's penmanship, Zack found the instructions for the machine surprisingly easy to follow. Though he'd have preferred to have Dr. Chip present to properly administer the necessary drugs, he summoned up a good mix of courage and foolhardiness, and administered them himself using the inoculation gun.

Zack immediately began to feel the effects of the drug, and struggled to maintain both balance and coherence as he initiated the final sequence, and laid down within the coffin like device. The door closed above him, and he began to feel a distinct chill as consciousness slipped away from him.

Zack awoke a short time later. He felt not the slightest bit groggy, and the chill had gone from the air. Convinced that the device and failed to activate, Zack disappointedly reached for the emergency release button. Try as he might, however, he could not seem to actuate the switch. In fact, it seemed as though his hand were passing right through it.

Seeing a bright, streaming light outside of the device, Zack began to realize that it had, in fact worked. He sat up, and found himself looking around Arwin's lab, the clear plexiglass lid of the cyro-pod passing painlessly through his midsection. After a moment's contemplation, Zack dropped his feet to the floor, and found himself standing in the middle of his own frozen, lifeless body. More than a little weirded-out, he quickly moved away from the unit.

Just then, the light began to fade. Knowing that he had no time to explore the fun times he could have as a ghost, he walked into the light, and let it consume him. A moment later, he found himself in a place vaguely reminiscent of Grand Central Station, redone in white marble, which reflected the almost-blindingly bright light, which seemed to have no particular source, but came from all around him.

"Come on, come on," interrupted a voice just ahead of him. "I ain't got all eternity."

Zack proceeded onward to a gate in a whitewashed rod-iron fence, guarded by a man in white robes at a podium, who looked for all the world like a grizzled New York City fare booth attendant.

"Name?" the man asked unenthusiastically.

"Um...Zack Martin," answered Zack, still getting his bearings.

"Martin," echoed the angel. "Martin, Martin...yeah, not seeing you on the list. You sure you're not supposed to go to the other place?"

Zack swallowed hard, having not considered that possibility.

"Nope," Zack answered hastily. "I'm supposed to be here. I'm sure of it."

The angel pondered for a moment, then posed a question to Zack.

"What's the meaning of life?" asked the angel.

"Excuse me?" reacted Zack.

"The meaning of life," reiterated the angel. "Come on, let's have it."

"Um...okay," ventured Zack. "Uh...every rose has its thorn...just like every night has its dawn...just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song...yeah, I think that's right."

The angel grunted. "Probably a paperwork SNAFU. Go on in; we'll come get you if there's a problem."

As Zack wandered the halls, he saw countless people from throughout the ages. As he expected, many of them were musicians. What he hadn't expected, however, was that they all played together in perfectly harmony, coming together in symphony that filled the halls. The music carried him away, and together with the sweet smells that filled the air, made him feel as though he never wanted to leave.

And yet, his thoughts returned to Maya. He realized he'd been searching for some time, and had still not found her. As wonderful as this place was, he realized that if he could be with her there, he didn't want to be there at all. Finally, he came to a crowd of children, gathered around someone playing the harpsichord. As he sifted through the crowd, he found the musician to be none other than his beloved Maya.

Zack stood perfectly still and breathless for several moments. He had thought Maya looked like an angel in life, but now, clad in her white gown, with her hair permanently flowing backwards as though blown by a constant wind, he lacked the words to describe the beauty seat before him. He regained his coherence only when the young woman stopped playing and approached him.

"Zack?" Maya asked incredulously. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah," replied Zack, still in a bit of a daze. "It's me."

"Oh my gosh!" cried Maya as she threw her arms around him.

They drew apart for a brief moment. Before Maya could take in the full implications of Zack's presence, he took her head in his hands and kissed her for all he was worth. Their lips and tongues entwined, giving expression to a passion they'd dared not give into during their days at Seven Seas High.

As the kids wandered away in search of something not quite as gross, however, Maya regained her composure, and began to process Zack's presence before her.

"Zack," asked Maya. "Does this mean you're..."

"No," interjected Zack. "At least, not yet."

"Then how are you here?"

"Arwin built a cryogenic suspension unit," explained Zack. "It gave me a way to die without actually dying."

"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Maya. "And Arwin agreed to this?"

"Actually, no," confessed Zack. "But he'll find me as soon as the party's over, and he and Dr. Chip can revive me."

"Oh good," said Maya with a sigh of relief. "So you'll be able to go back."

"Theoretically," answered Zack.

"What does that mean?" Maya asked worriedly.

"I don't know if it's possible," revealed Zack. "But I don't want to go back."

"Don't want to go back?" echoed Maya. "Zack, you have to!"

"No, I don't," argued Zack. "I love you, Maya. And now we can finally be together. I belong here...with you."

Just then, Maya began to cry.

"Oh baby," comforted Zack, cupping her face in his hands, wiping her tears away. "What's wrong?"

"I love you, too, Zack," confessed Maya. "I always have, and I always will. But you can't stay here."

"Don't you want me here?" asked Zack.

"Of course I do," affirmed Maya. "More than anything. But Zack, this isn't how it's supposed to be. It's not your time."

"Not my time?" retorted Zack. "And just how is it your time? How is that fair? I'm done giving a crap whose time it is."

"You're right," granted Maya. "It's not fair. But it happens for a reason. Zack, did they tell you how I died?"

Zack nodded. "You were working at an orphanage in Chad. Some nut-job insurgent set off a truck bomb in the middle of the capital."

Maya nodded. "A piece of shrapnel severed my brain stem. I didn't feel a thing."

"Okay," granted Zack. "So you had a painless death. But that doesn't change the fact that you had most of your life ahead of you, and now that's gone. It's a total waste!"

"You're wrong," argued Maya. "Zack, I accomplished my mission. What they didn't tell you was that I died protecting a baby girl. That girl will be adopted by a British couple in a few months. She'll grow up to be one of the finest scientific minds of her generation, and lead the first manned mission to Alpha Centauri."

"I guess that it is pretty cool," conceded Zack.

"Don't you see," concluded Maya. "We all have a mission, a part of the greater plan. My work is done. Yours has yet to begin."

"Maya, I don't know if I can go on without you," said Zack.

"You can," assured Maya. "And you will. And who knows: Maybe someday soon you'll find that special someone."

"I don't think I'm ready for that," responded Zack.

"Give it time," counseled Maya.

"I'll never stop loving you," declared Zack.

"And I'll always love you," reciprocated Maya. "You wouldn't be the Zack I fell in love with if you did."

With that, Zack and Maya embraced for one last time, holding each other more closely than would be possible in the mortal world.

"I could spend eternity in your arms," said Zack, echoing a sentiment from shortly after they'd first met.

Alas, it was not to be, for the angel who worked the front gate interrupted them, accompanied by two other angels dressed like Roman centurions.

"Zack Martin," the angel asked redundantly.

"Yeah, that's me," Zack admitted reluctantly.

"You'll have to come with us," ordered the angel. "It's not your time."

"I know," agreed Zack, slowly letting go of Maya's hand.

"I'll see you again," Zack called out as the angels led him away.

"I'm counting on it," replied Maya, blowing him a kiss as he disappeared from view.

The light around Zack shone more and more brightly, until it washed out everything around it. As Zack stood amid the wash of bright white, he could swear heard someone yell...

"Clear!"

At that moment, Zack felt a jolt, and the lights faded to reveal the ceiling of Arwin's lab, with Dr. Chip Walters hovering over him with a set of defibrillator paddles.

"I've got a pulse," announced Arwin.

Dr. Chip nodded. "Zack, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you just fine," slurred Zack, the effects of the drugs still wearing off.

"Let's get him out of this thing and get him to the ER," commanded Dr. Chip.

About a day later, Zack awoke in a hospital bed, where Arwin stood vigil.

"Ah, good, you're awake," declared Arwin.

"Where...where's my mom?" asked Zack.

"I sent her home to get some rest," answered Arwin. "The story I told her and the doctors was that you locked yourself in the freezer. If I'd told them what really happened, they'd have locked me up, assuming your mother didn't kill me first."

"I'm really sorry, Arwin," apologized Zack.

"Are you?" Arwin asked incredulously.

"I'm sorry I went behind your back," clarified Zack.

Arwin nodded in acceptance. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did," confirmed Zack. "I got to see her, I got to hold her, I got to say goodbye."

"Well, then I'm glad something good came out of this," said Arwin.

Zack looked at the clock on the wall, indicating that it was almost ten in the morning.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" admonished Zack.

"Yeah," acknowledged Arwin. "I'd better get going. You gonna be okay?"

Zack smiled. "Yeah. I think I will be."

**The End**

_**A/N:** I did Hell last year, so I reckoned I'd do Heaven this year. Thanks for reading!_


	12. LodyLodyLody II

**Mom's Boyfriend Sucks**

By Lodylodylody

******'******

Finishing their High School education on a cruise ship sailing around the world had allowed Zack and Cody Martin to experience many wonderful adventures…but there were some less than ideal tradeoffs in the bargain.

The happiest home that the two brothers had ever known was with their mother at the Tipton Hotel in Boston. But it was only natural that a certain amount of…detachment would take root as they spent more and more time away at sea. The boys were becoming men. The time was coming when they'd be off to make new lives and find new homes. At the same time, their mother was looking to start a new chapter in her own life.

Apparently, she was meeting with more than a little success in this task.

******'******

"You know, I'm really looking forward to getting home for a few weeks," Cody commented as he organized his meticulously packed luggage.

"Me too," Zack said as he casually dropped an oversized and rather unpleasant smelling duffle bag in the midst of his brother's things. "I've got a ton of laundry that needs doing."

Cody proceeded to complain about Zack's sloppiness for a good five minutes or so before moving on to another topic.

"Aren't you interested in finally meeting Mom's boyfriend?"

Zack shrugged. "A little. Just to make sure he's not a jerk. But from Mom's emails, she's happy. And he's been around for almost three months now…so he's probably okay."

"I would hope he's more than just 'okay'," Cody responded. "Like you said…three months. That's the longest time I can remember Mom dating anyone. This could be serious." He paused. "Very serious."

Zack rolled his eyes. "What are you worried about? That Nick's going to be our new step-dad or something?"

"That is a possibility."

"So?" Zack's attitude was still rather relaxed. "Everyone we've heard from says nice things about him…including Dad. That seems like a good sign."

"I suppose," Cody said with a hint of reluctance.

"Relax," Zack advised. "You worry too much. Honestly, every time Mom meets someone you think he's some sort of monster."

******'******

Nick extended his fangs and bit deeply into Carey's tender flesh. She gasped sharply before letting out a long and contented sigh.

"You are such a vamp-tramp," he teased, ending the bite after sampling only a little of her blood. He'd rather have taken much more…she was just so delicious…but it was up to him to be the disciplined one in this part of their relationship. For as much as Nick enjoyed feeding on her…Carey actually enjoyed being his meal even more…as evidenced by the pouty look she was giving him now that he'd retracted his fangs.

"You know we need to take it easy. Your boys are arriving in just a few hours…and we've been overdoing a bit."

"I know, I know," Carey answered as she leaned into the arms of her vampire lover. "It's your fault for being so irresistible."

"You're the irresistible one." He kissed her softly on the lips and then gazed adoringly into her eyes. She was truly a beautiful woman, though a little paler than normal thanks to all the 'playtime' they'd been sharing as of late. This wouldn't be a concern when Nick was finally able to take her fully and transform her into a vampire like himself. Then their passions would no longer be limited by her human stamina.

However, Carey wanted to tell her boys the complete truth before taking that step. She wanted them to understand that this was what she wanted…and because Nick loved her, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to assuage the boys' fears.

But because he was so much in love with Carey, Nick's heart was drowning out a rather basic question that any sensible man (much less with a man with several centuries' worth of life experience) should have asked.

How do you tell two teenagers that you're going to turn their mother into a vampire?

******'******

The first face-to-face encounter went pleasantly enough. Certainly the mood of the room couldn't have started off any better. Carey was overjoyed to see her sons again after such a long time apart…and though Zack and Cody tried (as young men often do) to appear less demonstrative, it was clear that they felt the same way.

Happy homecoming aside, there was still a certain amount of sizing up that took place when introductions were made. Nick judged both boys to be thoroughly decent young men…though Cody was much more tightly strung than Zack. The elder twin's manner was something Nick could appreciate…intense, undisguised scrutiny that continued just long enough for the young man to make a decision…which was then declared openly.

"You're a cool guy, Nick."

And then…Zack was completely at ease for the rest of the evening. With luck, Zack would be able to be similarly accepting when he learned about Nick's vampirism.

Cody seemed like he'd be a bit more difficult in that regard.

******'******

_Something's not right about him_, Cody thought as he silently observed his mother's boyfriend. _Not right at all._

The young man was utterly certain of this, if for no other reason that there was absolutely nothing _wrong_ at all about Nick. The phrase 'too good to be true' came to mind…but that was an oversimplification. In many ways, Nick seemed perfectly ordinary.

So perfectly ordinary that it bordered on the uncanny.

Everything about him seemed just the right balance. He was of average height…but just tall enough to look good standing next to Carey even if she had her high heels on. He was definitely handsome, in somewhat of a California surfer mode (though far too fair-skinned to have spent any time at the beach)…yet he also seemed the type that could blend into a crowd. He seemed very well-read and able to converse on any subject Cody mentioned…yet never seemed to dominate the conversation.

Nick somehow managed to be utterly compelling and entirely inoffensive at the same time.

That couldn't possibly be normal.

******'******

Zack shook his head. Ever since he and Cody had retired for the night to their old room, he'd been forced to listen to a non-stop list of objections that Cody had about Nick. Objections that were vague and ill-defined at best.

"Okay…let me see if I can sum this up," he finally told his brother. "You think Nick's strange…because there's nothing strange about him?"

"Now you get it," Cody answered.

"What I get is…you're the craziest person I've ever met. And remember, I've sat through counseling sessions with Mr. Blanket…so that's saying something."

The twins argued a while longer before Zack declared that he was done for the night and going to bed.

Cody tried to sleep as well, but rest eluded him. After what felt like an eternity of staring up at a dark ceiling, he got out of bed and headed towards the kitchen in the hopes that a glass of warm milk might be helpful. He was very quiet once he left his room, as he didn't want to disturb his mother.

As fate would have it though, Carey wasn't asleep. Neither was Nick. They were both wide awake and engaged in one of their favorite activities.

So engaged…that they didn't hear Cody approach. Didn't hear him until he let out a shriek of disbelieving fright.

He'd seen exactly what they'd been doing.

******'******

Zack had awoken and ran into the other room when he'd heard his brother's cry. And then things had gotten confusing as hell.

At first, upon hearing Cody's agitated ramblings, Zack had assumed that his twin had woken suddenly from a nightmare. But then when their mother and Nick had offered calm explanations…Zack wondered if there was some bizarre prank being pulled.

When Carey had shown the bite marks on her neck, Zack began to wonder if he actually the one having the bizarre dream.

But no…insane as it was…this was not a dream.

Mom was dating a vampire. A real…genuine…vampire.

And she was hoping that her sons would give their blessing to her becoming an undead bloodsucker herself.

It was at that point that Zack went and sat down, too dumbstruck to engage in any sort of debate on the matter…and too shocked to run screaming from the suite in search of Holy Water or a wooden stake.

Of course, it wasn't like Zack needed to speak. Cody was now doing a fine job of voicing every logical objection to the situation that any sane person could think of…and a fair amount of illogical objections as well.

But as Zack sat and tried to come to grips to the surreal situation they were faced with, he kept looking towards the other three people in the room. Cody's indignant outrage was a sight to behold by this point, but in this instance Zack was inclined to agree with his twin.

Except then he'd look at their mother…the emotion in her eyes. She was sitting there and letting Cody speak to her in a way that she never would have tolerated in any other circumstance. Yet, what else could she do? She was asking her boys to agree to something that was beyond insanity. How could anyone rationally take her side in this argument?

Still, the look on her face. She wanted this so much.

And Nick…Zack saw something else about the man now. Knowing what he really was…watching him closely…Zack came to an inescapable conclusion.

The man could kill them all in less than half a heartbeat.

Zack was sure of it. The quiet self-assurance that he'd noticed coming from Nick when they'd first met…that 'cool' quality that Zack had admired. That wasn't simple confidence. That was power. So much power that there was no need to draw attention to it. It was enough to know it was there.

There…but not being used.

That was another inescapable conclusion Zack drew as he observed how Nick looked at Carey while Cody ranted . Nick could have inflicted untold harm on Cody with ease. He chose not to.

Because he'd never do anything that would hurt Carey.

Yes, Zack had to not only deal with the idea that vampires really existed…he also had to accept that a vampire was truly, deeply in love with his Mom.

Even if he could wrap his mind around all that though…having his mother become a vampire was still out of the question.

Wasn't it?

It was crazy!

Feeling more confused and starting to get a headache from Cody's ongoing diatribe, Zack looked down at the end table next to his chair. There was a family photo album there…one Zack hadn't seen in a while. Perhaps Carey had been showing it to Nick earlier? Seeking a momentary distraction from all the drama surrounding him, Zack flipped the book open to a random page.

After staring at what he saw for a moment, he stood up.

"Cody," he said.

His brother didn't hear him and continued his angry monologue.

"CODY!" Zack shouted. The outburst silenced his twin and caused all eyes in the room to turn his way.

Zack cleared his throat and looked to his mother.

"Mom…are you…absolutely sure about this?"

Cody started to object but Zack cut him off with a quick kick to his shin.

Zack then, somewhat nervously looked towards Nick. "You aren't using some…vampire mind control or something on her are you?"

"No, I swear." He managed to inject a trace of levity into his tone. "If I could control people's minds I would have used that trick on your brother ten minutes ago."

"In that case," Zack replied slowly, "I just want Mom to be happy."

"WHAT?" Cody yelled. "Are you out of your-"

Cody was unable to finish his sentence when Zack put him in a headlock.

"We're just going to go talk in the other room for a bit," the elder twin explained as he dragged his struggling brother towards their bedroom. He even managed to grab the photo album with one hand on the way.

******'******

Once they were in their room and Zack had let go of him, Cody was more than prepared to vent his outrage.

"HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY APPROVE OF MOM BECOMING A VAMPIRE?"

"Stop shouting," Zack said seriously.

"What are you thinking? Don't you know what this would mean?" Cody continued. "Mom would be a monster! A creature of the night! She'd drink blood!"

"She'd still be Mom."

"She'd be a vampire! She'd never be able to see the sun!"

Zack's next words stunned Cody.

"That's not important."

"Not important? Are you out of your mind? We'll never see her in the daytime!"

"No, we wouldn't," Zack shot back. "And you know what else we'll never see? We'll never see her get sick…or weak…or old!" He paused. "And we'll never see her die!"

Cody was at a loss for a moment. "Zack, I-" He was cut off when Zack help up the photo album, opened to the page he'd randomly flipped to a few moments earlier.

There were two pictures on one page. One had a smiling Zack and Cody being held aloft by their great-grandfather…a bear of a man looking strong and hearty despite his advanced years. The second picture was also of their great-grandfather…thin and emaciated…the day before he died.

The pictures had been taken only two and a half months apart.

"Never old…never sick…" Zack repeated softly. "And she'll never die."

******'******

Cody and Zack walked back out to the other room to see Carey and Nick once more.

"I'm not convinced this is right," Cody said quietly to the two adults. "But…we could discuss it further…until I am convinced."

Carey grabbed the boy and held him in a fierce hug. "I love you, Cody." She then repeated the action with Zack. "I love you both."

******'******

There were further discussions later…but not many. In truth, Cody was only going through the motions of debating the issue out of pride.

Zack had convinced him the moment he'd held up the photo album.

And Carey Martin remained a very happy, very beautiful and very proud mother…

…for many…many…centuries to come.

* * *

**The End **

_**author's note**__: Personally, I think we can never have too many happy, well-adjusted vampires in the world. Carey would be an awesome vamp anyway. If anyone is curious, my OC Nick is named after, and his physical appearance is based on, the main character from __**Forever Knight, **__a short-lived Canadian show that I've loved madly since childhood. But just his first name and appearance…the original character from the show isn't quite good enough for Carey. Please review. _


	13. SilverTurtle II

**A GODDESS' DUTY **

by SilverTurtle

* * *

"But I don't want to go to Egypt!" Emma Tutweiller heard the petulant voice of one of her only remaining students, London Tipton, raised above Mr. Moseby's more reasonable tones. Her ears had pricked at the mentioning of Egypt and something within her, some other self, breathed a content sigh and woke in her a fierce longing as the word 'home' echoed in her mind in response.

"London, your father wants you to take in some culture. View the pyramids at Giza and the other monuments to the pharaohs and gods."

"Why would I want to go look at a bunch of big rocks built for a bunch of dead guys?" London sneered, "It's hot, sandy, and doesn't have any decent shopping!" Considering that London considered 'decent shopping' the type of thing where she dropped several thousand dollars on a single clothing item no one took her too seriously on that last point.

Emma turned the corner and finally saw London squaring off with her guardian, a flush high in her cheeks as she argued against this plan. Mr. Moseby had pulled out his handkerchief and was dabbing at his forehead when he caught sight of Emma and breathed a sigh of relief. "Miss Tutweiller, perfect timing. I was just telling London her father has planned a side trip for her to Egypt."

Emma smiled and nodded, "I heard that much. You know, London, the pyramids are considered some of the greatest wonders of the world."

"Don't care. Old and dirty. Not going." London crossed her arms and turned her nose up.

Mr. Moseby finally lost his temper. "Nonsense," he said firmly, "Your father has already chartered one of his helicopters to come pick you up. You're going. And you're not going to complain about it."

London's jaw dropped, "But Moseby! It's not safe!"

Giving a long suffering sigh Mr. Moseby asked, "What are you talking about, London?"

Emma listened with interest as London licked her lips and explained, "It's not safe out there with a bunch of strangers. Don't you remember what happened last year on that island?"

Emma's breath caught in her throat and her eyes welled involuntarily. Of course they all remembered what had happened last year on that cursed island. They'd lost three young men and Bailey still bore the scars of that trauma...she also still bore the machete which had saved her life and a feralness that Emma sensed went deeper than any of them knew. When they'd asked if Bailey had wanted to be sent home to Kettlecorn to recover she'd flat out refused, deciding instead to finish her schooling aboard the _S.S. Tipton_ to honor her lost friends. Emma herself had been with Bailey for every step of her recovery. It had been a hard and frustrating process and though the young woman would never be the carefree bubbly person she'd been before she was beginning to enjoy life again.

A low voice husked from somewhere among the shadows, "That only happened," Bailey swung from the rails of an upper deck to land lightly on the boards of the lower in a display of agility that had become a lot more frequent lately, her eyes bright and a bit of a growl rumbling in her throat, "because we went off the safe trails. You and the tourists were fine. Besides, we all know Mr. Moseby and your father wouldn't send you out there by yourself."

Bailey's sudden appearance had startled the group. Mr. Moseby, with a hand pressed to his chest, glared at the young woman and said, "Bailey! What have I told you about hanging from the rails like that?"

Bailey tilted her head and flashed her teeth in a smug grin, "That it's a remarkable display of athletic prowess and something the tourists are consistently fascinated by."

"Precisely," Mr. Moseby nodded, "Except the exact word I used was 'don't'." He glared for a moment longer at a very self satisfied Bailey before turning his attention back to London, "She's right though. Your father has detailed a bodyguard for you and assigned Miss Tutweiller and I to be your escorts. You're welcome to come as well, Bailey."

Bailey inclined her head, almost regally, in acceptance and said in a lighter voice more reminiscent of the teen she'd been two years ago, "I've always wanted to see the pyramids in person. They're a stunning example of human ingenuity and hieroglyphs are a bit of a hobby of mine."

"I'm still not going. There are crazy people out there and who knows what sort we'll find in Egypt!"

"But London," Emma said, "Egypt isn't some remote island. There isn't a community of cannibals there. Or any giant jungle cats." That last was said with a bit of a wistful tone. Who could forget the massive panther Bailey had slain? Emma felt the loss of such a magnificent creature as keenly as though it had been her own child, her affinity for felines extending even to that wild beast. Emma caught all three of them eying her oddly, Bailey with a bit of a curl to her lip, and shook herself out of her musings. "You'll be perfectly safe, London. We'll all be with you and you'll have the bodyguard. Egypt is no third world country like that island, the people are very cultured and I'm sure you'll find something to do to amuse yourself if the pyramids can't hold your attention." She turned her focus to Mr. Moseby, "When will the helicopter be here to pick us up?"

Mr. Moseby looked at his watch, "They'll be here in a couple hours. You all should pack for a few days. We're scheduled to stay for four days."

Bailey grabbed London's hand and pulled her away while ignoring all her protests.

Mr. Moseby and Emma separated to handle their own packing arrangements.

***'***

Emma stepped into her quarters and pulled out a light backpack and an urn she'd been keeping in a trunk. Her cats' eyes followed her movements and became more alert upon sighting the urn. It was a foot tall clay jar, smooth and heavy, topped with a carved onyx piece in the shape of a cat's head. She smiled when Mr. Whiskers and Lord Wiggums jumped onto her bed and stared at her intently. She reached out and scratched each of them behind the ears. "You know what this means?" she asked them in a soft voice.

Mr. Whiskers meowed and her other self heard beyond the sound to the meaning, "We're going home?"

Lord Wiggums lashed his tail, "Finally! It's about time we went back to a place where we're properly respected."

Emma smiled at her cats, "Yes. It'll be good to be home."

"Thirty years is a long time to be away, my lady," Mr. Whiskers reminded her, "Are you prepared to return?"

"More than prepared. Eager." Emma smiled at her cats, "I'll have my full powers under my control again."

"And figure out what's been going on with that kitten of yours?" Mr. Whiskers asked, referring to Bailey.

Emma pursed her lips and nodded, "Yes. Something has changed about her. Beyond the emotional and physical. She's become something...other. I just can't figure out what."

"A puzzle for when your powers are restored to their full strength, my lady," Lord Wiggums lashed his tail impatiently, "Are you going to open that for us or keep us waiting forever?"

Mr. Whiskers clawlessly swatted Lord Wiggums for his insolence while Emma just laughed and pried the onyx lid from her jar and placed it on its side on the floor. Mr. Whiskers and Lord Wiggums took up places on either side of the jar and supervised all of Emma's many cats streaming into the softly glowing jar until they were the only two left out. Lord Wiggums lashed his tail once as he stood and grumbled but slid easily into the jar.

"If you need us-" Mr. Whiskers began to say but was hushed by Emma's hand softly stroking his fur.

"I'll know where you are."

He gave a feline nod, rubbed against her shins, and slipped into the jar.

Emma tilted it upright and lifted it back onto the bed. "Rest well," she murmured before sealing it again and carefully putting it in her backpack. Her rooms somehow seemed much smaller without her cats laying on every available surface and she felt incredibly lonely.

She finished her packing in silence and when the time came she met the others on the helipad to board the newly arrived helicopter.

***'***

There was a bit of a struggle getting all of London's luggage in the helicopter which gave the others occasion to be very glad they had packed lightly. But Mr. Tipton, knowing his daughter, had accounted for her tendencies and sent a helicopter capable of handling her load. Once that was straightened out they all took their seats and were strapped in before taking off.

London was still sulking even as the helicopter came into view of land. But Mr. Moseby and Bailey were leaning in their seats to better see out the windows. Emma, too, looked out but less obviously so as she didn't need to see her homeland; she could feel it in her bones when they crossed into Egypt's borders.

The helicopter landed with no complications on the top of Cairo's Tipton Hotel. Porters helped them from the cabin and took control of their luggage leaving the new arrivals to follow them to their rooms.

London, of course, got a suite to herself. Emma and Bailey were to share a room with two twin beds and Mr. Moseby had a single. Thankfully, their rooms were all situated on the same floor which made planning their outings a much simpler affair than it otherwise would have been.

***'***

After two days of doing all the typical tourist activities London decided she'd had enough and commandeered her bodyguards to take her shopping and leaving the rest to fend for themselves.

Mr. Moseby was happy to take the opportunity to see how a Tipton Hotel was run in another country but even more happy to take advantage of being a V.I.P. and gleefully lounged about most of the day enjoying being waited on for once.

Emma had left before dawn, slipping quietly out of her shared room with her urn in hand while Bailey still slept, to meet her sister.

She abandoned heavily trafficked areas and took to the back roads, her memories of this city and her supernatural senses guiding her to where she needed to go. She reached a small residence, one built in an older adobe fashion which was squat and square but well kept, and rapped lightly on the door before letting herself in.

"_Welcome, Bastet_," the voice was low, smooth, warm, and feminine as it spoke in her native tongue.

Emma smiled as she recognized the form of her sister in the gloom of the darkened room. She replied in the same language, "_Sekhmet. It's good to see you._" She set her urn on a table to free her hands and embrace her sister goddess.

"_And you. What name did you choose this time?_" Sekhmet grinned as she twirled a lock of Emma's red hair in her fingers and teasingly said, "_I see by your hair that you're embracing our 'Lady of Flame' title._"

Emma laughed as she pulled Sekhmet's hand away from her hair and held it, "_Emma. Emma Tutweiller._"

Sekhmet raised a brow, "_Tut. How familiar._"

Emma just rolled her eyes and helped herself to a seat at Sekhmet's table. "_What are you calling yourself?_"

"_Sekhmet,_" her sister replied also taking a seat. "_As ever. I have a human guise only so I wouldn't upset the mortals while we're here. I don't have this peculiar urge of yours to live as humans do. One would almost think you were Greek._"

"_You know, as well as I do, that we need to stay connected to humans lest they forget us._"

Sekhmet waved her hand dismissively, "_They will not forget us. They could not. We are writ in their bones and in their histories. We need only remind them from time to time. Besides, even if we did need to live as they do, I don't see why you have to go so far from home to do it. It's dangerous to stay away from home for too long. Unless you want to lose your immortality._"

Emma sighed, "_I'd need to be gone for many centuries for that to be a true danger. Thirty years is nothing._"

"_Long enough for Apophis to muster his armies,_" Sekhmet replied grimly.

Emma's eyes shot to her sister's and held them in an intense gaze, "_He has become a problem?_"

"_He has always been a problem,_" Sekhmet replied dryly, "_But he has gotten much more powerful without you to help subdue him and his numbers. Our great father Ra is growing concerned that Apophis will soon succeed in preventing his journey across the horizon._"

"_Impossible!_" Emma cried out in horror.

"_Not impossible. Merely unlikely,_" Sekhmet countered, then continued smugly, "_And even less likely now you're finally home. We've sorely missed your strength._"

"_Well, as you say, I'm home now and ready to aid our father._" When Emma made to stand Sekhmet waved her back down.

"_Father made it into the sky today. We have time enough to tell me what you've been doing these last thirty years._"

Emma spent the next several hours regaling her sister with stories of her time as a human, the trials and tribulations, the joys and sorrows, the mundane and the exciting. She was just describing the changes she'd noted in Bailey, whom Sekhmet could tell was a favorite of Bastet's just from how frequently the stories included her, when Sekhmet raised her hand and tilted her head.

"_I feel someone approaching. Odd, I haven't felt the aura of a warrior of this type in over a millenium,_" Sekhmet studied her confused looking sister, "_You can't feel it?_"

"_My powers are not yet at their full strength,_" Emma admitted reluctantly, "_Three days has not been enough to restore me._"

"_No matter. This one isn't fully awakened,_" Sekhmet rose from her seat and crossed to the door on silent feet. Suddenly she yanked open the door, reached out and grabbed someone, and yanked them inside all in one lightning quick motion. She pinned a squirming and snarling figure to the wall by its shoulder but hastily released it when a blade came sweeping towards her head. She snarled in fury, "_You dare!_"

"Bailey!" Emma shouted in English, stilling Sekhmet's hand and stalling Bailey's return swing.

"Miss Tutweiller," Bailey said in a loud voice that was not quite a shout. Emma noticed the teen's eyes were wild and darted about taking in her surroundings, noting her seated at the table with a jar of some sort and dismissing them as unimportant. She watched Bailey focus on Sekhmet and saw them both tense when their eyes met, startled to realize her sister obviously felt Bailey was a threat, but Bailey flashed Emma a look and begged, "What is going on? Who is this?"

Sekhmet laughed as she looked between the two and put the name Bastet had shouted to the young woman standing ready for battle before her, "_It looks as though your kitten has followed you, Bastet._"

"_She is not my kitten,_" Emma replied in the same ancient tongue her sister still spoke in, a trace of irritation clear in her tone. Bailey had tensed when Sekhmet spoke but now she just looked confused as Emma spoke the same unfamiliar language back, "_Though my vassal also called her that._" She switched back to English, "Bailey, what are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Bailey edged away from Sekhmet to stand beside Emma, who had also risen, taking some small comfort from her presence though she was obviously unsettled by this unknown side of her teacher, "Mr. Moseby sent me to find you. We've been invited to dine with the hotel manager since it's our last night and he wanted us all back in time to get ready."

Noticing that Bailey hadn't answered her second question she asked it again.

Bailey shuffled her feet a little and fiddled with her hands, clearly not wanting to answer.

"_Can't you sense it for yourself, sister?_" Sekhmet laughed, drawing Emma's eyes to her, "_This little one is part cat. A were-panther, if that story you told me was true. The beast she killed was probably some minor god, or demigod, and the mixing of their blood has changed her. Though she is not fully awakened. Not yet, but she is close to it. She must have followed your scent._"

Emma's head whipped back around to study Bailey and she opened her senses as far as she currently could. She gasped when she felt the simultaneously familiar yet completely alien tug within her that told her Bailey was one of her kind, one of her chosen ones, a feline in the blood. And suddenly she had all the answers to the questions about Bailey's altered nature; her mood swings, her agility, her new and sudden strength and ferocity, even the rare times when she'd become exceedingly affectionate and sought Emma out to hold her...all of it could be traced back to her fight with the giant panther. She should have realized it sooner. She could have helped Bailey much more effectively had she been able to sense this for herself or even just remembered that such things while rare were still possible. Perhaps being away from home for thirty years had effected her more deeply than she'd thought.

"Miss Tutweiller," Bailey shifted uncomfortably under two intense gazes, "We need to go if we're going to make it back in time."

That shook Emma out of her thoughts and she turned regretful eyes on her student, "I'm sorry, Bailey, but I won't be going back with you."

Bailey pursed her lips but shrugged, "Mr. Moseby said if I couldn't find you that you'd come back to the hotel eventually to make the flight back."

Emma took a breath and placed her hands on Bailey's shoulders, "You misunderstand. I'm not going back at all. I'm staying here. In Egypt."

"_You would abandon her, sister?_" Sekhmet asked with heavy disapproval lacing her tone, "_Without telling her what's become of her? I had thought better of you._"

Emma hissed back at her sister, "_I have no choice! You said yourself that Ra needs my help. What am I to do?_"

"_Keep her!_" Sekmet growled back, her leonine nature showing more prominently in her bared teeth and fierce tone, "_Train her._"

"You can't stay!" Bailey broke in, her voice tight with fear. She stepped close to Emma and held her weapon in a gesture to ward off Sekhmet and spoke in a low voice, "If you need help to get away from her-" With a little tick of her weapon Bailey indicated her willingness to fight their way out and Emma was oddly touched by that.

"_She has the heart of a warrior,_" Sekhmet, who'd understood the motion for what it was, purred with warm approval for the young woman, "_If you won't have her, I will train her myself. I could use one so courageous._"

Emma laid a calming hand on Bailey's weapon hand, a move familiar to both of them as she'd stopped Bailey's more violent impulses with the same motion hundreds of times before, and shook her head. "She isn't forcing me to stay. She's my sister. And I have duties here."

Bailey looked startled and took a moment to study the woman who looked nothing like her teacher as she sheathed her machete. Dark brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair complimented the woman's straight nose and square jaw. Her height and muscular build further distanced herself from any likeness to Miss Tutweiller. "The one who stole your fiancé?"

Emma bristled when Sekhmet laughed. "That's not...entirely accurate. She stole many people from me, that's true, but none were my betrothed," Emma said. When Bailey looked more confused than before Emma continued, "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not 'Emma Tutweiller'. I'm called Bastet. And this is my sister, Sekhmet. When she showed up she took a great many of my worshipers. I couldn't say that as a mere human so telling you she stole my fiancé was the closest I could come to the truth." Sekhmet had collapsed into a chair shaking with such powerful laughter that she'd gone silent while Emma huffily crossed her arms over her chest.

Bailey stood with her mouth agape, "You're Bastet? Ancient Egyptian goddess of protection and cats? And she's Sekhmet, goddess of warfare and destruction?"

Both Emma and Sekhmet grumbled at being described so simply. Emma said, "We gods are more complex than that. But yes, those are some of the things you humans ascribed to us."

Bailey sat heavily in the chair Emma had occupied earlier. "I don't believe it," her voice somehow managed to be awed and skeptical at the same time.

Sekhmet solved that problem by dropping the glamor that gave her a human appearance revealing to Bailey her lionness head adorned with a headdress bearing a sun disk. Then she spoke in English, "Believe it, little kitten. We're goddesses and we've a war to fight. Bastet must stay to help us triumph over Apophis."

Bailey squeaked and shot up from her chair with her weapon held out in front of her, the other two hadn't even seen her draw it from its sheath again. "Miss Tutweiller, please, can't we just go? Mr. Moseby will be worried for us."

Emma put her hands on Bailey's shoulders again and shook her head, "Sekhmet is right. I can't leave. Not when so much depends on my being here."

"Then let me stay, too!" Bailey cried, tears welling in her eyes, "I could be useful. You've seen what I can do with this thing," she gripped her machete a little tighter, "And I'm strong. So much stronger than I was before. Please," she pleaded as she looked deeply into Emma's eyes.

"No," Emma said, "You aren't ready. And you're too young to drag into this." Emma ignored the low growl coming from Sekhmet and the answering frustrated growl from Bailey. "You have so much life to live and so much to learn, about yourself and the world. I can't let you stay, Bailey. I won't."

The tears Bailey fought back now spilled freely down her cheeks as she said brokenly, "I can't lose you, too. I won't survive it."

Emma felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. Bailey had already lost so much. Her three closest friends had been brutally killed right in front of her. She'd fought for her life, killed to save herself, and had been much changed because of it. Emma hadn't even considered what losing herself might do to Bailey, knowing she'd been the only real support the girl had with her anymore. She gathered the sobbing girl into her arms and stroked her hair while murmuring gentle nonsense sounds to soothe her. "What am I to do with you?" she whispered.

"_If I may make a suggestion?_" Sekhmet said quietly once more speaking their native tongue. She ran her fingers lightly over the head of the urn and looked meaningfully at Emma with a quirked brow.

A flash of insight and Emma knew what Sekhmet intended. It could work. It would work. It had to.

"Bailey," Emma said softly, "Hush now. I'm not going to abandon you. Not now, not ever. But sweetie, I still have to stay here and you still aren't ready to join in my fight."

Bailey pulled back to protest but was quelled by Emma's lifted hand. Emma turned to her urn and lifted the lid, a soft glow spilling from it and making Bailey's eyes go wide. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when Emma reached into the urn and pulled a fully grown cat from the narrow opening and set it on the table. It took Bailey a moment to get over her shock but she soon recognized the cat as Mr. Whiskers, whom she'd met before. "I don't understand."

"You aren't ready to join my fight here but that doesn't mean you can't be made ready. If it's what you want," Emma was careful to add. "Mr. Whiskers can teach you everything you'll need to know. Help you with the changes you're already going through and train you to master yourself. When you leave, he'll go with you. And when you're ready, if you ever are, he'll lead you back to me."

Bailey sat slowly back in the chair and Emma could see she was thinking hard. She watched as Bailey reached a hand out to Mr. Whiskers and lightly scratch the top of his head until he emitted a rumbling purr that made them all smile. Finally, Bailey nodded. "Okay. Okay. If you really think I'm not ready, I'll do this instead." She looked up and held Emma's eyes fiercely, "You promise me that I'll see you again someday?"

Emma felt unexpected tears start in her eyes, she'd been human too long, and she nodded. She stepped forward and cupped Bailey's face in her hands, studying the young woman's face for a long moment, and bent to kiss Bailey's forehead. Through the kiss she cast a spell over Bailey, one the young woman wouldn't even know was there, to hide her memory of this encounter until the time was right. Mr. Whiskers would teach Bailey as the girl slept, connecting to her dream self and training her in the ways of a warrior of Bastet and in the changes her were-form would put her through, but Bailey would think them just dreams until the time was right, if it ever was, and she would awaken with a full memory of all of this and make the choice to join the fight or live her life as a regular human.

Emma and Sekhmet watched Bailey leave in a daze, cradling Mr. Whiskers in her arms. "_Did I do the right thing?_"

"_You did what you had to,_" Sekhmet reassured, "_You've given her a chance to have a normal life. The rest is up to her._" She slung a friendly arm around her sister's shoulders, "_Come. We have much preparation to do if you're to join in the battle tomorrow morning._"

Emma sighed and picked up the urn containing the rest of her cats, she'd release them when she reached her temple, and left at her freshly disguised sister's side. The little adobe house fading from existence as they got farther away from it.

***'***

_Ten Years Later_

Bailey woke from her dream in a sweat, her whole body tense and her teeth bared in a growl as phantom images of an army of reptiles chased her from her dreams of pyramids and goddesses.

She sat up and locked eyes with her cat, they were glowing yellow the same way hers sometimes did, and was slammed backwards by the force of the memory of how she'd acquired him. She gasped as her mind was flooded with other memories. How she got the scars on her back, discovering her teacher was actually an ancient goddess, learning she'd become something not quite human, the promise she'd been made, thinking her teacher had disappeared in Egypt never to be seen again, and endless hours of training supervised by the same cat sitting alert at the foot of her bed. Image after image, lesson after lesson, all crashing through her head at once until the deluge slowed to a trickle, then to nothing. She lay on her bed gasping, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

She sat up again, this time reaching to her bed post to grab down her trusty machete, then locking eyes with the cat she knew was much more than a cat.

"Take me to her, Whiskers."

The cat gave one long, deep meow then leaped into Bailey's lap and they both disappeared in a flash of light.

***'***

When Bailey next opened her eyes she was on the bank of a reed strewn river, the Nile her mind supplied...or its spiritual equivalent, and looking straight at Emma Tutweiller standing proud on the deck of a boat dressed for war in leather and metal with several large cats prowling around her feet.

Whiskers emitted a much louder and longer yowl and drew Emma's attention immediately.

Bailey's heart soared when a radiant smile blossomed on Emma's face.

An instant later and she stood on the deck before her former teacher unsure of how she got there and not really caring because she was distracted by Whiskers growing in size to join the prowling pride of big cats already stalking the planks and Emma's jubilant grin. The goddess, of course, hadn't aged a day.

The two women stared at each other with silly smiles on their faces.

Sekhmet suddenly appeared behind Emma, looking over her shoulder with a bright grin. "_I knew you'd be back. I told Bastet you had the heart of a warrior._" And though she spoke her native language Bailey understood every word and she smiled for it. Then Sekhmet gave Emma a light shove which sent her crashing into Bailey's arms, an embrace that began as a rescue quickly turned into an embrace of welcome and joy.

"You're here," Emma said with wonder, looking awed into Bailey's eyes, "You're actually here."

Surprising them both, Bailey replied in the ancient tongue, "_There's nowhere else I would rather be._" And as she spoke she knew it was true. She'd lived these last ten years trying to be normal but always feeling as though something had been missing, and now standing with an actual goddess in her arms she finally felt as though she was where she belonged.

Impulse swept over her, feelings that had been growing inside of her for over a decade washing away all her inhibitions, and she held Emma tightly and pressed a tender kiss to Emma's lips.

Emma sighed and melted into Bailey. She hadn't expected this but intimacy was not something she'd be turning away, she'd gone far too long without the touch of a lover and even longer without a lover who had chosen her true self above all others.

They'd be spending all of eternity fighting Apophis' hordes soon enough but in that moment, and in many moments that would be stolen throughout the years, they were truly and finally completely happy.

**THE END**

*****'*****

_**A/N:**__ OMG I've lost my mind. This was inspired by Jane Lindskold's '**The** **Buried** **Pyramid**' and my story "**Of Man and Monster**" from last year's Halloween collection._


End file.
